Jolie-Pitt Children Seek Name Changes: Maddox, Zahara, and Shiloh's Decisions
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's eldest son, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, has initiated the process to officially alter his surname. The 24-year-old has submitted legal paperwork to remove "Pitt" from his name and wishes to be known as "Maddox Chivan Jolie" moving forward. The timeline for the decision on this request is currently uncertain.
Maddox was adopted by Angelina from a Cambodian orphanage at the age of seven months in 2002. Subsequently, Angelina also adopted daughter Zahara from Ethiopia three years later. When Angelina and Brad began their relationship, Brad expressed his desire to adopt Angelina's children, leading to a name change for the children to "Jolie-Pitt" in 2006. The former couple later adopted son Pax Thien in 2007 and have three biological children together: Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne.
Angelina and Brad's marriage ended in 2016, with Angelina filing for divorce citing "irreconcilable differences." Despite being legally declared single in 2019, they are still entangled in a contentious legal dispute over shared assets, including a winery in France. Notably, Maddox is not the only child in the family seeking to distance themselves from their father, as Zahara and Shiloh have also taken steps to change their surnames in recent years.
Zahara identified herself as "Zahara Marley Jolie" at a sorority event at Spelman College in 2023, while Shiloh initiated legal proceedings to change her name from "Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt" to "Shiloh Nouvel Jolie" in the following year. Representatives for Brad Pitt have not issued any public statements regarding these name changes.