Well, it’s really real now, Rob McElhenney is now going by Rob Mac, and he’s officially spoken up about the matter. After it was revealed that he was legally changing his name, the actor took to his social media to explain why he’s decided to go through with it. While he admitted that it is “kind of douchey,” he also shared some solid reasons behind the choice.
After news broke that the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star was looking to legally change his name, he took to Instagram to explain himself. Noting that he’s aware of the silly nature of this whole debacle, he also addressed the major reason why he’s decided to do this, saying:
Yes, I’m shortening my name to Rob Mac, mostly a stage name, but I digress. Is it kind of douchey? Sure. But the amount of time that I have wasted trying to get people to say either or spell my name correctly is literally days of my life. Trust me, I added it up.
To prove that point, he then showed a bunch of clips of people saying McElhenney incorrectly.
Now, with Season 17 of It’s Always Sunny premiering on the 2025 TV schedule on Wednesday, July 9, and the edgier half of its crossover with Abbott Elementary on the horizon, I’ve been typing McElhenney enough to totally relate to his point. It’s not an easy last name to spell, it’s very easy to misspell, and Rob Mac has been dealing with that fact for his whole life, as he said.
To that point, he also noted that we all have been dealing with it too, humorously explaining that “thousands” have had “minutes of [their] life stolen” over his last name.
I'm sure many of us can relate to all of this as well. My last name, while short, is mispronounced all the time. I've had to correct so many people about it, and I know many others who are in the same boat.
However, while this is all silly, Mac (formerly McElhenney) also provided some family history to give deeper context to this change. He noted that while McElhenney is a family name, it’s seen many different spellings over the years, and that’s why he’s not sweating the switch, as he explained:
Still, it’s a family name. My grandparents, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and I all share it, and I love them, and I want to stay connected. There’s heritage. Except, it’s not even really our fucking name. Not only have many generations changed the spelling, the current one was just given to my ancestor by a government official who decided that this was now the spelling.
So, all around, I get the choice to go by Rob Mac. It’s significantly easier to spell and say, and as the co-owner of Wrexham A.F.C. noted, his family’s name has been spelled lots of different ways anyway. He also made it abundantly clear that his loved ones are perfectly fine with this switch-up, noting that he’s been going by Rob Mac for a while now:
Times have changed, and most people already call me Rob Mac anyway. My family knows me and loves me regardless of how many syllables I have, and that’s the only thing that I really care about. There are so many things going on in the world, and this is a silly one to continue to waste your time with. Honestly, call me whatever you want.
He ended things by saying we should “maybe just keep things simple,” and Rob Mac definitely is that.
So, as he continues to work on It’s Always Sunny and becomes an even bigger name in English football thanks to Wrexham’s massive success, let’s all respect his choice to change his name to Rob Mac. Sure, I’ll miss McElhenney; it is a very cool last name. However, I also understand where the actor is coming from and why he made this decision, so as he said, “let’s see how it goes.”
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