Zahara Jolie has legally changed her surname from Jolie-Pitt to Jolie after a Los Angeles judge granted her petition on Monday, 28 September. No objections were filed, and she is now legally known as Zahara Marley Jolie, the name she had already been using publicly for months, according to E! Online.
She is the third of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's six children to have the name change legally approved. A fourth sibling, Vivienne, has already filed her own petition.
Zahara Used Jolie Name Before Court Approval
Zahara's legal name change follows years of publicly using the surname Jolie. According to E! Online, she introduced herself as Zahara Marley Jolie when she joined the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority at Spelman College in November 2023. She was also announced by the same name at her graduation in May. Her petition did not state a reason for the change. Monday's hearing was brief, with her attorney appearing remotely and no objections filed before the judge granted the petition.
Zahara was adopted from Ethiopia in 2005, with Pitt formally adopting her the following year. She turned 21 in January and graduated from Spelman College with a degree in political science.
The legal change therefore formalises a surname Zahara had already been using publicly. Her decision follows similar legal changes by two of her siblings, although each child has filed separately and cited individual circumstances in their respective petitions.
Shiloh and Maddox Also Dropped Pitt Surname
Shiloh was the first of the siblings to legally remove Pitt from her surname. She filed a petition on her 18th birthday in 2024 and became legally known as Shiloh Nouvel Jolie by that August.
Maddox followed this year. He filed his petition in May, and a judge granted it on 14 September, making him legally known as Maddox Chivan Jolie. His petition listed the reason as 'personal'.
Maddox, the eldest of the six siblings, had also previously used the surname Jolie professionally. He was credited as an assistant director under that name on one of Angelina Jolie's recent films, adding to evidence that the surname was already being used publicly before his legal petition was approved.
With Shiloh, Maddox and Zahara having completed the legal process, three of the six Jolie-Pitt children have now legally removed Pitt from their surnames.
Vivienne Has Filed, Knox and Pax Have Not
Vivienne filed her own petition in July, also listing 'personal' as her reason and asking to become Vivienne Marcheline Jolie. Her final hearing is scheduled for 2 November. She has begun the same legal process as her siblings, but her requested name change has not yet been formally approved. The outcome will depend on the court hearing in November.
Her twin brother, Knox, has not filed a name-change petition, although he used 'Knox Jolie' on his graduation records from Fusion Academy this year. Using the surname publicly or on school records does not, by itself, establish that a legal name change has been completed.
Their brother Pax has also not publicly filed a petition to change his name. That leaves Vivienne as the only one of the three remaining siblings with a documented legal petition currently moving through the process.
Name Changes Follow Years of Legal Disputes
Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in 2016. The pair did not finalise their divorce until 2024, after years of legal proceedings. Their disputes also included a separate legal battle over Château Miraval, the French winery they once owned together.
The name changes have taken place against that broader history, but the children have filed their petitions separately and their stated reasons have not necessarily been the same.
One source close to Pitt told People that he was 'aware and upset' when Shiloh first dropped his surname. The comment was made in the context of reporting on Shiloh's name change and should not be taken as an explanation for the decisions of the other children.
With Shiloh, Maddox and Zahara having completed their name changes and Vivienne's petition awaiting its November hearing, the Jolie-Pitt children continue to take separate legal steps regarding their surnames.
