Never mind the name McElhenney — just call him Mac.
The It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia actor currently known as Rob McElhenney is in the process of legally changing his name to Rob Mac and will be credited by that name in future film and television projects, his representative told Entertainment Weekly.
Mac previewed the name change in a Variety interview published last month, explaining that the pronunciation of his surname has become an issue as his More Better Industries company continues making international investments, including soccer teams in Colombia and Mexico.
“As our business and our storytelling is expanding into other regions of the world and other languages in which my name is even harder to pronounce, I’m just going by Rob Mac,” he told the magazine.
Mac admitted in that interview that he worried a name change might disrespect his ancestors. But recently he learned that relatives of his had adjusted the spelling of McElhenney over the years and that some family members were also considering a name change.
Still, Mac’s new name will take some getting used to for his immediate kin, which includes his wife and fellow Sunny star, Kaitlin Olson.
“The kids are really not happy about it, because they have that last name,” Olson told Variety. “And so do I, legally!”
Ryan Reynolds, Mac’s costar in the FX sports docuseries Welcome to Wrexham, taught the world how to pronounce Mac’s original surname in a song titled “It’s McElhenney!” for Mac’s 46th birthday in 2023.
“Pronouncing all those N’s and E’s and H’s can perplex ’em / So here’s a little birthday gift from all your mates in Wrexham,” Reynolds sang.
“It’s McElhenney, McElhenney / While ways to massacre and mispronounce it there arе many / It’s McElhenney, McElhenney / If there was doubt, now there won’t be any / It’s McElhenney!”
Still unclear? “First, it’s Mack-le like a tackle / When we take ’em to the ground / Then Henny like the penny / That he’s in for with the pound / It’s M-C, E-L-H-E, double N, E-Y / You’ll probably f*** it up, but give it a try!”