Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s Son Maddox Files to Drop Pitt Surname

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s eldest son, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, has taken a legal step to remove his father’s surname and officially go by Maddox Chivan Jolie. The news was first reported by TMZ, according to the information cited in the coverage.

The 24-year-old has reportedly filed documents requesting a formal name change. If approved, his legal name would no longer include “Pitt,” marking a continued shift in how he identifies publicly and professionally. The request is still pending approval at this stage.

Maddox’s decision follows earlier signs of the same change in his professional credits. He recently worked as an assistant director on his mother’s film Couture, where he was listed as Maddox Jolie instead of Maddox Jolie-Pitt. The film, which stars Angelina Jolie as a film director facing a personal health crisis while working in France, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2025 and later released in French cinemas in early 2026.

This is not the first time Maddox’s name has appeared without his father’s surname in a film project. In previous work on the 2024 movie Maria, he was credited as Maddox Jolie-Pitt. The more recent change suggests a gradual transition in how he is choosing to be credited in the industry.

Maddox is the oldest of six children shared by Jolie and Pitt. The former couple, who were together for more than a decade before separating in 2016, also share Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne.

Several of the children have also made similar changes to their names in recent years. Shiloh legally dropped “Pitt” from her surname, and Zahara has introduced herself publicly as Zahara Marley Jolie in various appearances, including at Spelman College. Vivienne has also been credited simply as Vivienne Jolie in theater work connected to her mother’s Broadway production involvement.

Reports of strained relationships between Brad Pitt and some of his children have circulated since the couple’s separation in 2016. The divorce was finalized in 2024 after years of legal proceedings and public attention.

A source previously told PEOPLE that Pitt was aware of Shiloh’s decision to change her name and found it emotionally difficult. The source said, “He’s aware and upset that Shiloh dropped his last name. The reminders that he’s lost his children is of course not easy for Brad. He loves his children and misses them.”

Jolie and Pitt first became linked in the mid-2000s and later built a large family through adoption and biological children. Maddox, originally adopted by Jolie in 2002, was later adopted by Pitt after the couple began their relationship. In 2006, a court approved the children’s surname change to Jolie-Pitt after Pitt formally adopted Maddox and Zahara.

Maddox’s current filing, as reported by TMZ and PEOPLE, represents the latest development in a long-running and closely followed family situation that has continued to evolve since the couple’s split.

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