Hollywood actor Brad Pitt is facing another highly publicised development in his long-running family saga after his eldest son, Maddox, officially removed “Pitt” from his surname.
A Los Angeles County judge approved the 25-year-old’s request on September 14, 2026, meaning he is now legally known as Maddox Chivan Jolie.
The decision makes Maddox the second of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s six children to legally remove their father’s surname.
Maddox had filed the petition in May 2026, seeking to change his legal name from Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt to Maddox Chivan Jolie.
The request was subsequently approved by the court.
The development has reignited attention on the bitter family tensions that have followed Pitt and Jolie since their separation nearly a decade ago.
From Hollywood’s ‘Brangelina’ to a fractured family
Pitt and Jolie were once among Hollywood’s most famous couples, with their relationship attracting worldwide attention.
They eventually married in 2014 after years together and shared six children: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne.
Their relationship dramatically changed in 2016 when Jolie filed for divorce.
The split was followed by years of legal disputes involving custody of their children and other matters.
Their divorce was finally settled in December 2024 after an exceptionally lengthy legal battle.
The family situation has continued to attract public scrutiny, particularly as several of the children have increasingly used Jolie’s surname rather than the hyphenated Jolie-Pitt name.
Maddox had already been using Jolie professionally
Maddox’s decision did not come completely out of the blue.
Before the court formally approved his name change, he had already been credited professionally as Maddox Jolie.
He worked as an assistant director on his mother’s film Couture, where his professional credit reportedly omitted “Pitt.”
That earlier move had sparked speculation about whether Maddox would eventually seek to make the change official.
His May 2026 petition subsequently confirmed that he wanted the change recognised legally.
Maddox is not the only child distancing himself from the Pitt surname
The latest development comes amid similar moves involving several of the former couple’s children.
Shiloh, who turned 18 in May 2024, successfully changed her name from Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Nouvel Jolie.
Her attorney said at the time that the decision was personal and that she had independently initiated the legal process.
Zahara has also been moving toward formally dropping “Pitt” from her surname.
She has publicly used the Jolie surname and reportedly filed a legal petition to become Zahara Marley Jolie, with a court hearing scheduled for September 28, 2026.
Vivienne has likewise been publicly identified as Vivienne Jolie in connection with her work on the stage production The Outsiders.
Reports have also recently claimed that Knox has used the Jolie surname.
As a result, Maddox’s court-approved name change is being viewed in the wider context of several siblings increasingly identifying with their mother’s surname.
The 2016 incident remains central to the family’s history
The deterioration of the Jolie-Pitt relationship has frequently been linked in media coverage to an incident involving the family on a private aircraft in September 2016.
Jolie made allegations concerning Pitt’s behaviour during the flight, while Pitt denied allegations of abuse.
Authorities investigated the incident, but no criminal charges were filed against the actor.
The episode nevertheless became a major turning point in the couple’s relationship and was followed by their divorce proceedings and a lengthy custody dispute.
Importantly, claims made by either side over the years should not be treated as established facts beyond what was determined by authorities or documented in court records.
Jolie has spoken about allowing her children to become independent
The latest developments also come shortly after Jolie discussed motherhood and her relationship with her now-adult children.
In a recent interview with L’Officiel, Jolie spoke about raising her six children as individuals and expressed pride in the different paths they have chosen.
She said she wants to support them while allowing them to develop their own identities and lives.
That perspective has added another dimension to the debate surrounding the children’s decisions to use the Jolie surname.
While the name changes have generated intense speculation about their relationship with Pitt, the children themselves have generally kept their personal reasons private.
A symbolic moment for the Jolie-Pitt family
Maddox’s court-approved name change is therefore more than a simple alteration of paperwork for many observers because the Jolie-Pitt surname became one of Hollywood’s most recognisable family names.
When Pitt adopted Maddox and Jolie’s other adopted children, the children became known as Jolie-Pitt.
The surname subsequently became associated with one of the entertainment industry’s most famous families.
Nearly two decades later, several of the children are choosing to identify themselves differently.
For Pitt, the development comes as his relationship with his children continues to receive intense public attention.
For Maddox, however, the legal change formally establishes the name he has already been using in parts of his professional and personal life.
The court’s decision does not itself establish why Maddox made the decision, nor does it provide evidence for competing claims about the family’s private relationships.
What is clear is that Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt is now legally Maddox Chivan Jolie, marking another significant chapter in one of Hollywood’s most closely watched family stories.
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