df <- c ("Do(i)lfal", "Do(i)lferl", "Steff(l)", "Steffe", "Steffi")
unlist(strsplit( paste(sub("(.*?)\\(([a-z])\\)(.*)", "\\1\\2\\3, \\1\\3", df), collapse=","), "\\s*,\\s*"))
ZGYgPC0gYyAoIkRvKGkpbGZhbCIsICJEbyhpKWxmZXJsIiwgIlN0ZWZmKGwpIiwgIlN0ZWZmZSIsICJTdGVmZmkiKQp1bmxpc3Qoc3Ryc3BsaXQoIHBhc3RlKHN1YigiKC4qPylcXCgoW2Etel0pXFwpKC4qKSIsICJcXDFcXDJcXDMsIFxcMVxcMyIsIGRmKSwgY29sbGFwc2U9IiwiKSwgIlxccyosXFxzKiIpKQ==