Two more of the children of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have taken legal steps to drop his surname in the most glaring sign yet that the glory days of “Brangelina” are long gone.

The move came just days before the couple’s two youngest children, twins Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline, celebrated their 18th birthdays on Monday – and the formal end of any post-split parenting arrangements between Pitt and Jolie.

Last week, two of the twins’ siblings – their 24-year-old brother Maddox and 21-year-old sister Zahara – had legal notices published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal confirming their intent to change their names.

People magazine reports that, according to court documents, Zahara wants her full legal name to be “Zahara Marley Jolie” while Maddox wants his to be “Maddox Chivan Jolie”.

The publication of legal notices in four consecutive weeks is a requirement of Californian law. It is followed by hearings – on September 14 for Maddox and September 28 for Zahara.

It follows reports from earlier this year that both had officially filed petitions to drop their double-barrelled Jolie-Pitt surname.

Jolie and Pitt at the premier of her movie Maleficent. Photo: Getty

Jolie, 51, and Pitt, 62, were among Hollywood’s most prominent couples for 12 years.

Often simply known as “Brangelina”, they had a whirlwind romance after meeting on the set of Mr and Mrs Smith in 2003. Their relationship became formal after Pitt’s divorce from Jennifer Aniston was settled in 2005.

They wed in 2014 but Jolie filed to dissolve the marriage only two years later, after an incident on a plane ferrying the family home to the US. Jolie accused Pitt of “abusive behaviour”.

The divorce was messy. The marriage was officially declared over in 2019, but other issues – including child custody and finances – meant the case dragged through the California courts until 2024.

“More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr Pitt. Since that time, she has focused on finding peace and healing for their family,” Jolie’s lawyer said after it was finally resolved.

“Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over.”

As part of the settlement, Pitt was granted joint custody of the couple’s six children – Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Vivienne and Knox. Jolie was required to live in Los Angeles with them.

However, it has been reported that, by last year, Pitt had almost no contact with his children.

Pitt and Jolie shepherd their children through an airport in Japan. Photo: Getty

Shiloh, now 20, was the first to drop his surname. In 2024 she went through a similar legal path that her siblings are now taking.

“He’s aware and upset that Shiloh dropped his last name,” a source close to Pitt said. “The reminders that he’s lost his children is, of course, not easy for Brad. He loves his children and misses them.”

There had been signs Shiloh’s siblings might follow: Maddox was listed as Maddox Jolie in his role as assistant director on Jolie’s movie Couture when it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in last September, while Zahara did not use Pitt’s surname at her college graduation in May.

Pax reportedly uses Jolie as his surname, while not yet having made any legal moves to change it.

Meanwhile, Vivienne – who is now a legal adult – was credited as just Vivienne Jolie in The Outsiders, a Broadway musical she helped Jolie produce. Her twin brother Knox used only his Jolie surname when he graduated earlier this year from his prestigious Los Angeles private school.

Sources close to Pitt have told multiple media sources in the US that Jolie “caused the rift” between the Hollywood acting legend and his children.

“This is the result of a prolonged campaign of alienation of children against their parent,” they said.

“It’s an incredibly sad reality, but it’s not surprising after years of one parent weaponising the children against the other one with no regard for the consequences.”

Us Weekly has reported that Pitt wished he had a better relationship with his children.

“He feels most hurt out of everything that happened with Angie that his children don’t want a public association with his last name,” a source told the outlet in late May 2026. “It’s been very difficult.”

Despite the continued distance, the insider said Pitt still hoped “and keeps the door open to eventual reconciliation, hopefully with all of them, but it is their decision”.

“He has no power and he can’t force them,” they said.