Son of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Maddox wants to remove “Pitt” from his last name, says source

Acompanhando’s previous movements of his brothers, Maddox, the eldest son of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, began a significant process for his personal identification. The decision reflects a tendency observed among the ex-couple’s children to distance themselves from their paternal surname.

Maddox Pitt, 24, has formally requested the removal of the surname “Pitt” from her civil registry. The request, which seeks to change its name to Maddox Chivan Jolie, is still awaiting court approval, according to information released by TMZ this Thursday, May 28. A representative of Brad Pitt, 62, chose not to comment on the process to PEOPLE magazine, which also tried to contact Angelina Jolie’s advisor, 50.

Pedido formalizes change already seen in credits

The legal name change to Maddox Chivan Jolie, if approved, will formalize a practice already adopted by Maddox in recent professional projects. The young man worked as an assistant director on his mother’s last film, “Couture”, where he was credited exclusively as Maddox Jolie. Este drama, starring Angelina Jolie as a film director diagnosed with breast cancer, premiered on Festival Internacional’s Cinema’s Toronto (TIFF) in September 2025 and hit French cinemas on February 18.

Anteriormente, Maddox had worked on the film “Maria”, a 2024 drama starring his mother as opera singer Maria Callas. Naquela produced by Netflix, he was credited as Maddox Jolie-Pitt, serving as a production assistant. The credit change on “Couture” marked a public transition before the formal request for a name change.

Outros’s children also removed “Pitt” from their surnames

Maddox, who was adopted by Jolie in 2002 and later by Pitt in 2005, is not the only child of the former couple to choose to remove the “Pitt” surname. Outros brothers also made similar moves, reinforcing the perception of post-separation family tensions.

• Vivienne Jolie:In May 2024, Vivienne, 17, was credited as Vivienne Jolie on Broadway’s edition of the show “The Outsiders”, produced by her mother.
• Zahara Marley Jolie:In August 2024, Zahara, 21, introduced herself as “Zahara Marley Jolie” in a Alpha Kappa Mu Pi video on Spelman College. On May 17, 2026, during her Psicologia graduation, her name was read as “Zahara Marley Jolie” as she crossed the stage, despite being listed as Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt in the ceremony program.
• Shiloh Jolie:Shiloh, 20 years old, requested to legally change his name to Shiloh Jolie on May 27, 2024, the date he turned 18.

Após asked Shiloh, a source close to Brad Pitt told PEOPLE that the actor was aware and upset about the decision. “The memories of losing his children, of course, are not easy for Brad. Ele loves his children and misses them very much,” the source said at the time. The former couple’s children also include Pax, 22, and Knox, 17.

Histórico of family tensions and separation

The recent name changes come after years of reports about strained relations between Brad Pitt and his children, following the actor and Angelina Jolie’s messy split in 2016. The couple, who were together for more than 10 years and married for two, finalized their divorce in December 2024.

The process of adopting Maddox by Brad Pitt began in late 2005, and in January 2006, a Los Angeles judge approved the couple’s request to have Maddox and Zahara’s surnames legally changed to Jolie-Pitt. The children’s distance from the surname “Pitt” is one of the public developments of the complex family dynamics after the actors’ relationship ended.