Bernd Ottovordemgentschenfelde says he has trouble getting his name to fit on official forms Photo: ALAMY

The 45-year-old floor tiler from the Rhineland says he has trouble getting his name to fit on official forms, as well as the side of his van.

He often has to shorten his name for credit cards, while his wife Sylvia, 45, and daughter Nadine, 14, have both shortened their last name to Gentschenfelde.

“My father wanted to give me a second first name,” he said. “But my mother successfully stopped that!”

Judth Schwanke, a name expert from the University of Leipzig in Germany, confirmed he currently has the longest name on record, at 24 letters.