Why are Angelina Jolie’s children dropping ‘Pitt’ from their surnames? Vivienne

Why are Angelina Jolie's children dropping 'Pitt' from their surnames? Vivienne

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s youngest daughter Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt has filed a legal petition to remove “Pitt” from her surname, making her the fourth child of the former Hollywood couple to seek a similar name change.

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Earlier this year, Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt and Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt also began the process of removing “Pitt” from their names. Under California law, people seeking a legal name change are required to publish a public notice before a court hearing.

According to The Independent, Zahara and Maddox published notices related to their filings, allowing anyone who objected to submit a written opposition before the final hearings.

The name change filings come years after Jolie and Pitt’s highly publicized split in 2016. Their divorce was finalised in 2024 after a lengthy legal dispute.

The former couple’s separation followed a 2016 private plane incident that led to an investigation after allegations involving Pitt and the family. Pitt was cleared of allegations following an FBI review, and his representatives have previously denied claims made against him.

Vivienne’s petition will now go before a judge in November. If no objections are filed, the court will decide whether to approve the requested surname change.

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The filing comes after several of Jolie and Pitt’s other children moved away from using their father’s surname publicly or legally. While the reasons behind the changes have not been fully disclosed, the developments have renewed attention on the family’s long-running public separation and legal battles.

Jolie, 51, and Pitt, 62, split in 2016 after more than a decade together. They share six children:

Shiloh Jolie was the first of the siblings to receive approval for a legal name change. She filed to remove “Pitt” from her surname after turning 18 in 2024 and now uses her mother’s surname.

Zahara had already been using the name Zahara Marley Jolie publicly, including during a university sorority introduction video in 2023. Maddox was credited as Maddox Jolie while working as an assistant director on Jolie’s film Couture.

Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt is Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s youngest daughter. She was born in 2008 along with her twin brother Knox.

She made her acting debut alongside Jolie in the 2014 film Maleficent, where she played a young version of Princess Aurora. More recently, Vivienne worked with her mother as a producer’s assistant on the Broadway production The Outsiders, which Jolie was involved with.

Her latest court filing does not publicly provide a detailed reason for the requested name change beyond citing “personal” circumstances.

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Vivienne, who turned 18 recently, submitted the request in Los Angeles County Superior Court, according to The Independent. Court documents reportedly list the reason for the change as “personal”, with a hearing scheduled for November 2.

A representative for Pitt has said the actor continues to have respect for his children, while sources close to him have previously suggested he hopes relationships can improve over time.