A New Zealand man has changed his name to nearly the longest allowed by the country’s laws after apparently losing a bet, the APNZ news service reported today.

The 22-year-old man from Dunedin is legally known as Full Metal Havok More Sexy N Intelligent Than Spock And All The Superheroes Combined With Frostnova, just one letter short - including spaces - of the 100-character limit imposed by the government.

A spokesperson from the Department of Internal Affairs’ Births, Deaths and Marriages department reportedly said the name change was registered in March 2010 and it met the legal requirements.

APNZ did not report the man’s original name.

It is not the first time that New Zealanders’ naming habits have drawn media attention.

In 2008, a New Zealand family court judge ordered that a girl named Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii be taken into court custody so she could change her name.

In 2007, a couple tried to name their child 4Real Superman but were turned down because it contained a number. They settled for the name Superman, but continued to call the child 4Real unofficially.

Names rejected by the government in recent years have included Majesty, Knight, Princess, V8, Mafia No Fear and Lucifer.

- dpa