It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiastar and creatorRob McElhenney(pronounced ma-kuhl-heh-nee) has filed to legally change his name to “Rob Mac.” The decision for McElhenney, or Mac, as we should now refer to him, to change his surname shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise as he stated his intention to do so in a piece for Variety last month, citing the frequent mispronunciations of his moniker as the reason, especially as his company More Better Industries continues to expand globally where his name is less common. He announced:
“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.”
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His new three-letter surname is easy to remember as it is also his character’s nickname on the hit FX sitcom,Always Sunny. He is now credited online with his shorter surname in official materials for the show. For example, a blurbon the network’s websitereads: “Rob Mac stars as ‘Mac’ in the critically-acclaimed FXX original seriesIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.He also serves as creator, writer and executive producer of the show.” The rollout of his name comes after he officially filed documents in Los Angeles to legally make the change.
Mac, who owns the soccer club Wrexham AFC withRyan Reynolds, and also serves as an executive producer on the FX sports docuseriesWelcome to Wrexham, which follows the events that have transpired since their acquisition, hasengaged in some hilarious birthday banterwith his football and business partner over the years. Most notably, in 2023, Reynolds created a comedic video (shared below) that poked fun at the McElhenney name by providing evidence of those that have butchered it while also teaching people how to pronounce it.
What’s Next for Rob Mac?
Mac has been busy working on new episodes ofIt’s Always Sunny,the show that he created back in the early 2000s. The first two episodes of Season 17 will premiere on Jun 26, 2025, and by the looks of it, fromthe most recent trailer, the next installment is full of the usual hijinks that will push the limits of enduring TV comedy. The series was renewed back in 2020 for four more seasons, taking it up to at least Season 18, so it is only a matter of time before Mac and the rest of the cast and crew start filming the next batch of episodes.
Welcome to Wrexhamhas also just beenrenewed for a fifth season, and that announcement arrived with fresh details about its brand-new spin-off seriesNecaxa,featuring Mac and Reynolds’ latest sports club owner-friend,Eva Longoria, as the trio endeavor to revitalize one of Mexico’s football operations, the Aguascalientes from Club Necaxa. Mac serves as an executive producer on both series alongside a team of others. The Mexican soccer-centric docuseries is set to kick off on FX and Disney+ Latin America sometime this summer.
Source:Variety
Rob McElhenney
