Shiloh Jolie-Pitt recently celebrated her 18th birthday, but instead of a traditional party, her plans reportedly included a stop at the courthouse. On May 27, Shiloh, the daughter of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, officially filed a request to change her name, according to TMZ. This filing, which took place on the first day Shiloh could legally make such a request, suggests she had been eagerly awaiting this significant change.
The most notable part of this request? Shiloh dropped “Pitt” from her hyphenated last name, opting to go by Shiloh Jolie. This decision was legally confirmed nearly three months later, on August 19, as reported by NBC News. Shiloh Jolie is now her official name.
This change in her last name seems to hint at a desire to distance herself from her father, Brad Pitt, especially in the aftermath of his highly publicized and contentious divorce from Angelina Jolie in 2016. The divorce, which was reportedly triggered by an altercation between Brad and his eldest son, Maddox, has long fueled rumors that the couple’s six children have grown distant from their father.
Shiloh is the first of her siblings to officially request a name change, but it appears that she may not be the only one with such sentiments. A few years ago, rumors circulated that Maddox wanted to drop “Pitt” from his name as well. Additionally, Shiloh’s older sister, Zahara, raised eyebrows when she introduced herself as Zahara Marley Jolie—without the “Pitt”—during her sorority induction ceremony in 2023. And just days before Shiloh’s legal filing, her younger sister, Vivienne, was listed simply as “Vivienne Jolie” in the playbill for a musical she helped produce.
The name change could be seen as a continuation of what appears to be a broader trend within the family, with several of Angelina and Brad’s children seemingly choosing to move away from the “Pitt” part of their identity.
Brad and Angelina’s relationship timeline offers some context for these developments. When they first started dating in the mid-2000s, Angelina had already adopted Maddox from Cambodia in 2002 and Zahara from Ethiopia in 2005. Brad later adopted both children in 2006, at which point their last names were legally changed to Jolie-Pitt. Shiloh was born later that same year, followed by the adoption of Pax from Vietnam in 2007. In 2008, Angelina gave birth to twins Knox and Vivienne.
Over the years, Brad and Angelina’s highly publicized breakup has undoubtedly impacted their children. While the legal change of Shiloh’s last name to simply Jolie might seem like just a small alteration on paper, it carries much larger emotional weight, potentially signaling a significant shift in her relationship with her father. As Brad continues to navigate his strained relationship with his children, the decision by Shiloh and her siblings to distance themselves from the “Pitt” surname might suggest that the emotional wounds from the divorce are still raw.
Whether this trend will continue with the other Jolie-Pitt children remains to be seen, but for now, Shiloh’s decision marks a pivotal moment in the family’s dynamic. As she begins adulthood, it seems that she is choosing to define herself on her own terms—by her mother’s name alone.
