Maddox Jolie-Pitt, the eldest son of Hollywood actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. [Yonhap]
Maddox Jolie-Pitt, the eldest son of Hollywood actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. [Yonhap]

Maddox Jolie-Pitt, the eldest son of Hollywood actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, has legally removed his father's surname from his name.

A court held a hearing Monday (local time) on a name-change petition Maddox filed in May, according to People and other media. The presiding judge granted final approval after no objections were received. Maddox will now be known legally as Maddox Jolie.

Maddox drew attention in South Korea when he enrolled at Yonsei University's Underwood International College in 2019.

Maddox is not the only child to have dropped the Pitt name.

Jolie and Pitt have six children together: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Vivienne and Knox.

Daughter Shiloh filed her own name-change petition with a court in 2024 upon turning 18 and received approval the same year, legally removing "Pitt" from her name. Zahara is also in the process of changing her name to Zahara Marley Jolie, with a court hearing scheduled for Sept. 28. Vivienne submitted a petition in July to change her name to Vivienne Marcheline Jolie, with a hearing set for November.

The conflict between Jolie and Pitt dates back to 2016.

Jolie filed for divorce following an incident aboard a private jet that year, setting off a prolonged legal battle over custody and other matters. Their divorce was finalized in December 2024.

As the couple's children have one by one legally shed the Pitt surname, the fractured state of the family once celebrated in Hollywood as "Brangelina" has drawn renewed attention.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com