CALIFORNIA — Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt and Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt have filed petitions in California courts to remove the surname Pitt from their legal names, continuing a pattern of surname changes among the children of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Zahara, 21, filed her petition in April, and Maddox, 24, followed with his filing in May.

Under California law, legally changing a name requires publishing the intention in a local newspaper for four consecutive weeks. Both children have satisfied that requirement through notices in the Los Angeles Daily Journal. Maddox published his petition on June 10, June 17, June 24, and July 1. Zahara published hers on June 16, June 23, June 30, and July 7.

A judge is expected to rule on Maddox's petition in mid-September. Zahara has a court hearing set for September 28 regarding her request. Maddox cited personal reasons in his name change filing.

Both siblings have already used the surname Jolie in public settings ahead of their legal filings. Maddox used the surname Jolie in the credits for the film "Couture." Zahara used the surname Jolie during her graduation ceremony from Spelman College in May.

The name change efforts by the two siblings are part of a broader shift among the six children of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who share Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne. Shiloh changed her surname to Jolie in 2024. Vivienne used the name Vivienne Jolie in the playbill for the musical "The Outsiders" in 2024.

The couple married in 2014 before Angelina Jolie filed for divorce in 2016. In 2019, she dropped Pitt from her legal name. She told Vogue in 2020 that she left Brad Pitt for the wellbeing of her family. The couple settled their divorce at the end of 2024.

A source close to Brad Pitt stated that he respected his children's decisions regarding their surnames. The coordinated surname changes among three of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's adult children reflect a formal severing of the family name years after the couple's high-profile split. The legal proceedings in California come as the last of their six children have reached adulthood, with each making individual decisions about how publicly to identify themselves. The filings follow Jolie's own name change in 2019 and the final settlement of the divorce at the end of 2024.