Rob McElhenney‘s wife, Kaitlin Olson, addressed his name change to Rob Mac and revealed their children’s reaction during an interview. McElhenney decided to change his last name in response to the public consistently mispronouncing it. The change also stemmed from the global expansion of his business and creative ventures. He recently signed the paperwork in Los Angeles to initiate the name change process.
Kaitlin Olson talks about kids’ reaction to Rob McElhenney changing his name
Kaitlin Olson revealed in a May interview that she and Rob McElhenney’s children were not okay with his new name.
“The kids are really not happy about it, because they have that last name,” Olson told Variety. “And so do I, legally.”
McElhenney, who was also in the same interview, explained the reason for his name change. He shared that his company, More Better Industries, had decided to expand its business and creative operations to other countries, where his last name would become “even harder to pronounce.”
The Mythic Quest actor noted that he initially felt conflicted about the change, fearing he might be “disrespecting his ancestry.” However, he later learned that some family members had already updated the “McElhenney” in their names over the years. He added that several relatives even expressed excitement about changing their names when they joined him for birthday celebrations last month.
Two years ago, the mispronunciation of McElhenney’s last name became the subject of a humorous music video created by his Welcome to Wrexham co-star Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds collaborated with Justin Paul and Benj Pasek on the video and posted it on Instagram on McElhenney’s birthday.
McElhenney’s process to change his name is currently underway. The 48-year-old filed the paperwork for the same on June 26, as per TMZ.
Moving forward, McElhenney’s new name will be reflected in the credits of his projects, according to Entertainment Weekly. In fact, the name change has already been reflected in official FX online material.
Originally reported by Abdul Azim Naushad on ComingSoon.
