Why The Spelling Of The Vacation Family’s Name Is Complicated

Although the phrase Griswold vs. Griswald sounds like the name of Clark’s (Chevy Chase) latest misadventure, it’s actually a much simpler conundrum: the spelling of the National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise family’s name is complicated. Based on John Hughes’ short story “Vacation ’58” from National Lampoon magazine, the Vacation movie comedy series kicked off in 1983 with National Lampoon’s Vacation — a chronicle of the Griswold family’s comedic cross-country road trip to a theme park. Two other installments in the series were released in the 1980s: National Lampoon’s European Vacation and the much-loved holiday classic National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

In the ’90s, the family trekked to Las Vegas; in 2015, there was a clumsy attempt to soft-reboot the Vacation series. No matter the film, the Griswold family is composed of four key players: Chase’s fumbling but well-intentioned patriarch Clark; Beverly D’Angelo’s loyal-to-a-fault Ellen; and the couple’s kids, Audrey and Rusty. Notably, the time jumps between the various films always call for the recasting of the Griswold children, but the family, as helmed by Clark, endures. Even though Hughes penned the first three Vacation films, there are some glaring inconsistencies between the movies outside the revolving door of the Griswold sibling actors.

The True Spelling Of The Vacation Movies Family Name Is Griswold

In every iteration of the Vacation films, Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold just wants to spend more time with his wife Ellen and their children, Rusty and Audrey. In the first installment, Clark decides it would be a great family bonding experience to drive from Chicago to Southern California, as opposed to flying, for the family’s vacation to the Walley World theme park. The consistently funny screwball comedy not only won over audiences and critics alike, but topped the box office too. The National Lampoon’s Vacation movies are full of fun facts, but one of the most needlessly complicated behind-the-scenes oddities is the “true” spelling of the family’s name.

In the original Vacation film, Christmas Vacation, and 1997’s Vegas Vacation, the family’s last name is spelled with an “o,” making it Griswold. For the most part, this is taken as the canonical spelling of the name, even though European Vacation — the installment that changes the spelling — actually shows the family’s last name in two key scenes. Maybe the “o” spelling has stuck because the original movie and Christmas Vacation are the best movies in the series. Whatever the case, the true spelling of the Vacation movies’ family’s name is “Griswold.”

National Lampoon’s European Vacation Spelled The Name Griswald

Ranking every Vacation movie on merit would likely land National Lampoon’s European Vacation close to the bottom of the heap. Full of cartoonish slapstick and unfunny gags, European Vacation doesn’t quite recapture that Griswold family vacation magic. Of course, it also makes a glaring change to the spelling of the family’s name, trading the “o” for an “a.” In two scenes, the Griswolds’ name is spelled incorrectly: first, it appears as “Griswald” on Clark’s passport, and, later, the Pig in a Poke game show also spells Clark’s last name incorrectly. Getting the main characters’ family name wrong definitely doesn’t do this installment in the National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise any favors.