“The amount of time that I have wasted trying to get people to either spell or say my name correctly is literally days of my life,” he explained.
LOS ANGELES — Rob McElhenney, known for his role in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” wants to emphasize one thing: his decision to legally shorten his name is not something to dwell on.
In fact, he wants fans to spend as little time thinking about it — and trying to pronounce it — as possible.
In a brief video shared on social media on Tuesday, McElhenney — who will now be officially recognized as Rob Mac — quickly explained his decision to change his name legally. He acknowledged that it might appear “kinda douchey,” but reassured folks that it’s all about practicality.
“I’ve spent literal days of my life getting people to either spell or pronounce my name correctly,” he said as a 60-second timer ticked down on screen. “Seriously, I’ve tallied it up.”
The 48-year-old actor, who co-created the long-running comedy series set in Philadelphia, framed the decision as an act of kindness toward his fans.
“More importantly, it means thousands of you have had minutes of your life stolen by me because of my last name,” he explained, as the video ran through examples of various mispronunciations he’s endured over the years.
Mac first revealed the name change in an interview with Variety, telling the magazine that people already called him “Rob Mac” anyway, referencing his iconic character from the FX sitcom.
McElhenney is “not even really our name,” he added. “Not only have many generations changed its spelling, the current one was just given to my ancestor by a government official who decided that this was now the spelling.”
His wife and co-star, actress Kaitlin Olson, said in the May “Variety” interview that she and the couple’s two kids still have the McElhenney surname.
“Honestly, call me whatever you want — Marion, Jerome, Archibald, Eric, Maurice, Stephanie, Frances, Marvin, Gordon or Sam,” he continued in the video. “But maybe we just keep it simple and try Rob Mac.”
Legal documents filed in Los Angeles confirmed the name change became official this week.
After nearly two decades of playing Mac on screen, the actor said his family “knows me and loves me regardless of how many syllables I have,” and that, he concluded as his timer hit zero, “is the only thing that I really care about.”
