It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Rob McElhenney knows people think it’s “kinda douchey” that he changed his name to Rob Mac, but here’s the thing — he really doesn’t mind.
The actor posted a typically funny video on social media Tuesday to explain his choice, with the caption, “I said what I said.”
Okay, I’m going to dedicate exactly one minute to this. Start the clock. Yes, I’m shortening my name to Rob Mac. Mostly a stage name, but I digress. Is it kinda douchey? Sure. The amount of time that I have wasted trying to get people to either say or spell my name correctly is literally days of my life — trust me, I added it up.
he began, cueing an onscreen timer as he did so As he spoke, clips of people flubbing his name played in the background.
More importantly, it means thousands of you have had minutes of your life stolen by me because of my last name. Except, as he pointed out, McElhenney isn’t really his family’s “f—ing name.
Moreover, McElhenney isn’t the only one who’s had trouble because of his name. Always generous with fans, the actor said he’s also thinking of them with the name change, jokingly adding.
Though he admitted he cares deeply for his family and the shared “heritage” that comes with a common last name, it’s all a bit ironic, because.
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.
As evidence, McElhenney shared an old photo of his great-great-grandmother with a handwritten note that said her name was Bridget McIllhenny.
Times have changed and most people call me Rob Mac anyways. My family knows me and loves me regardless of how many syllables I have, and that’s the only thing 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.
McElhenney then concluded that
In the end, McElhenney said he doesn’t mind what you call him, Marion, Jerome, Archibald, Eric, Maurice, Stephanie, Frances, Marvin, Gordon or Sam, but for now, maybe stick with Rob Mac.
A spokesperson for the Wrexham AFC co-owner told Entertainment Weekly on Friday that he has officially filed to change his name to Rob Mac, which is how he’ll be credited in future professional work.
Kaitlin Olson, McElhenney’s wife and Sunny co-star, told Variety that her husband’s new name isn’t exactly well-liked at home.
The kids are really not happy about it, because they have that last name. And so do I, legally!”
she said
Source: EW