Rob McElhenney says he’s considering switching to a shorter last name.
The “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” star — who also co-owns the Wrexham A.F.C football team with Ryan Reynolds — told Variety he wants to swap his notoriously challenging surname for one that’s easier to pronounce.
The decision, he said, coincides with his multimedia company, More Better Industries, increasing its global investments, which now includes 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 said.
The actor told the publication he initially worried that a name change might be considered disrespectful to his Irish ancestry. That is, until he discovered others in his family had changed the name over the years.
Last month, family members who celebrated his birthday with McElhenney confided they, too, were interested in a name change.
Olson, who tied the knot with McElhenney in 2008, told Variety she and the couple’s sons — Axel Lee, 14, and Leo Grey, 13 — weren’t sure what to make of the idea.
“The kids are really not happy about it, because they have that last name … And so do I, legally!” she said.
“Mac” wouldn’t be all that hard for fans and people in McElhenney’s orb to remember. After all, he plays a pub co-owner named Mac on “It’s Always Sunny” and also co-owns a bar in Philadelphia, Mac’s Tavern, in real life with wife and “Sunny” co-star Kaitlin Olson.
McElhenney’s name-swap idea comes more than two years after his prankster pal Reynolds created a music video for the actor’s birthday to teach fans how to say his last name.
“It’s Mackle-Henney, it’s Mackle-Henney,” Reynolds sings along with a roster of guest stars, including Olson and then-Philadelphia Eagle center Jason Kelce.
In 2023, Olson, who also stars on the new hit ABC drama “High Potential” and has a recurring role on the HBO hit comedy “Hacks,” poked fun at rumors that McElhenney had been cheating on her while in Wales.
“It was me who had the affair. But it was not someone from Wales. It was with a whale,” Olson tweeted at the time.
“I’ve always loved whales,” she added. “They’re the bosses of the ocean and I’m attracted to power. We ask for privacy as we navigate this difficult time.”
McElhenney couldn’t resist reposting Olson’s tweet and adding his own joke. “Sad to admit that rumor is true,” he wrote.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
