‘It’s Always Sunny’ Star Rob McElhenney Legally Changes His Name: “I’m Just Going by Rob Mac”

Let’s face it — you’ve probably been calling him “Mac” this whole time anyway.

Rob McElhenney, the longtime star of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, is making it official. The actor has filed to legally change his name to Rob Mac, his rep confirmed to Entertainment Weekly on Friday. That’s how he’ll be credited in future projects, too.

The reason? McElhenney says global fans have consistently stumbled over the pronunciation of his last name — and with his work expanding across international markets, the confusion has only grown.

“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 explained in a recent interview with Variety.

Outside of Sunny, Mac is also known for co-creating and starring in FX’s docuseries Welcome to Wrexham, which follows the rollercoaster journey of the Welsh football club he co-owns with Ryan Reynolds. (Yes, that kind of football — or “soccer,” for the Americans.)

The actor’s production company, More Better Productions, has also dipped into South American soccer ventures — and apparently, his surname proved to be a recurring challenge in conversation.

The struggle became something of an inside joke — so much so that Reynolds gifted his business partner a musical PSA for his birthday, enlisting Wrexham locals and celebrity friends to help the world pronounce “McElhenney.”

“Pronouncing all those Ns and Es and Hs can perplex ’em,” Reynolds crooned in the 2023 video. “So here’s a little birthday gift from all your mates in Wrexham.”

Even Kaitlin Olson, Rob’s wife and Sunny costar, admitted the switch is causing some family friction.

“The kids are really not happy about it, because they have that last name,” she told Variety. “And so do I, legally!”

McElhenney admitted he wrestled with the decision, but was reassured after learning that some of his own relatives had either changed or considered altering the spelling of their surname over the years.

“It felt like I wasn’t being disrespectful to my ancestors,” he said.

With Welcome to Wrexham wrapping its fourth season and already renewed for a fifth, and It’s Always Sunny gearing up for season 18, fans — and title card designers — should have plenty of time to get used to the name Rob Mac.