What is a reasonable length limit on person “Name” fields?

Question

I have a simple webform that will allow unauthenticated users to input their information, including name. I gave the name field a limit of 50 characters to coincide with my

Answer 1

Note that many cultures have 'second surnames' often called family names. For example, if you are dealing with Spanish people, they will appreciate having a family name separated from their 'surname'.

Best bet is to define a data type for the name components, use those for a data type for the surname and tweak depending on locale.