Rob McElhenney Embraces Name Change: “Call Me Anything!”

Rob McElhenney has joined the conversation regarding his decision to change his name after noticing the chatter online.

Last week, the news broke that the Emmy-winning actor applied to legally shorten his name to Rob Mac, and he recently addressed the public to spend “exactly one minute” clarifying his reasons on social media.

“I’ve decided to shorten my name to Rob Mac—think of it as a stage name,” he shared in a Tuesday video on X. “Might it be a bit pretentious? Perhaps, but consider the countless hours I’ve lost trying to correct the pronunciation or spelling of my name. I’ve calculated it; it totals days of my life.”

McElhenney expressed a desire to maintain a connection to his family name but revealed that it’s been altered over generations. “It’s not really our original name,” he explained, “Over many generations, its spelling has been changed. The version we have was simply assigned by a government clerk to my ancestor.”

He continued, “The world has evolved, and most people already call me Rob Mac. My family will love me regardless of the length of my name, and that’s truly all that matters to me.”

Reflecting on other actors who have modified their names, Mac concluded, “With everything happening in the world, this shouldn’t be something to dwell on. Honestly, you can call me whatever you like.”

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia enthusiasts will see the co-creator and lead’s new credit when Season 17 debuts on July 9 on FXX with ‘The Gang F***s Up Abbott Elementary’, a two-part crossover event continuing with ABC’s Abbott Elementary.