The Special Meaning Behind Knox Jolie-Pitt's Name

When Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt slowly made their way into the limelight as a couple in 2005 after meeting on the set of their movie "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," the public was giddy with glee. The moment was only topped when the duo confirmed they were expecting their first biological child together. Two of Hollywood's hottest stars combining genes? Yes, please. Shiloh Jolie-Pitt was born in May 2006, joining her adopted siblings Maddox and Zahara.

Then came a double dose of celebration, as Jolie and Pitt appeared on the red carpet to make an unofficial-official announcement. Usually lithe and lean, Jolie's abdomen was swollen with not one but two offspring in the making. Having adopted Pax in 2007, Hollywood's most-watched brood was growing by leaps and bounds. "We weren't expecting twins!" Jolie revealed to Entertainment Weekly. "So it did shock us, and we jumped to six quickly. But we like a challenge."

That challenge began in a small town in southern France when the Jolie-Pitt fraternal twins entered the world. Vivienne Marcheline and her brother Knox Léon were born in July 2008. While Vivienne's middle name may be familiar to most — a tribute to Jolie's mom, Micheline, who died the previous year —Knox's name also has family connections, taking a leaf from both the Pitt and Jolie family trees.

In the world of baby names, you'll find "Knox" hails from Scotland, a derivation of the Scottish Gaelic word "cnoc," which can be translated as "hill." But don't think that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt named their precious progeny after geography — Knox Léon's moniker has a much more sentimental connection to the family.

Starting with his first name, Knox was named after Pitt's grandfather on his mother's side, Hal Knox Hillhouse. Hillhouse passed away in 1976, when Pitt was 13 years old. Jolie has said her youngest son is a lot like his father in more ways than one, so it's an appropriate reminder of the Pitt connection whenever someone shouts out, "Knox!"

Moving on to his middle name, Léon, that would be a tribute to his mom's side of things. It's been reported the name hails from Jolie's great grandfather on her mother Micheline's side. That little accent over the "e" is also a nod to both the country where Knox was born and to Jolie's French-Canadian streak, inherited from Micheline's ancestors.

When Knox Jolie-Pitt came into the world, he already had two big brothers to bond with. In addition to sharing the same hyphenated last name, Pax, Maddox, and Knox all have another feature in common: all the boys in the family have first names ending in the letter "x." Although Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have never acknowledged the "x" factor as contributing to the naming process of their youngest son, it is, nevertheless, a matching moment worth noting.

Knox's name also shares something in common with his parents' names: all of them have been seen rolling in the credits of a blockbuster movie. Knox voiced the character of Ku Ku in "Kung Fu Panda 3" when he was eight years old, co-starring alongside his mom in the animated feature. He has yet to appear in any of his dad's films, but there's plenty of time for the two to team up.

While Jolie and Pitt didn't invent their son's name, they certainly contributed to its popularity. By the end of 2009, a year after Knox was born, 340 Knoxes were registered with the U.S. Social Security office, a distinct uptick from only 93 the year before.