This article was originally published on Crafting Your Home. A human contributor also wrote and edited the post.
LOS ANGELES — Maddox and Zahara Jolie-Pitt have completed a required public-notice step in separate efforts to remove “Pitt” from their legal names. The adult children of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt now face court hearings in Los Angeles in September.
Newspaper notices complete the required step.
The siblings filed separate name-change petitions and published notices in the Los Angeles Daily Journal for four consecutive weeks. Maddox’s hearing is scheduled for Sept. 14, while Zahara’s is set for Sept. 28.
The notices serve a procedural purpose. They alert the public to each requested change and allow interested parties time to submit a lawful objection before a judge acts.
Neither Maddox nor Zahara has issued a public statement explaining the petitions. The notices identify the requested names but do not provide detailed personal reasons for removing their father’s surname.
Their shared surname began in 2006
Maddox was adopted by Jolie from Cambodia in 2002. Zahara was adopted from Ethiopia in 2005. Pitt later adopted both children after beginning a relationship with Jolie.
A California court approved the Jolie-Pitt surname for Maddox and Zahara in 2006. The pending petitions would reverse that naming decision but would not change the legal adoptions.
California courts review each petition.
The California adult name-change process generally requires a filed petition, newspaper publication, and judicial review. A judge may approve the request during a hearing or issue a decision without one in some cases.
Publication helps identify objections involving fraud, debt avoidance, or another improper purpose. It does not authorize a court to decide which parent was responsible for a family dispute.
No verified objection has been publicly identified in either pending case. Pitt’s representatives have not released a direct statement addressing the scheduled hearings.
Shiloh changed her name in 2024
The new requests follow Shiloh’s legal name change in August 2024. She filed her petition on May 27, 2024, the day she turned 18. A Los Angeles court changed her name from Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Nouvel Jolie. She did not publicly explain the decision.
Her lawyer said Shiloh made the choice independently and hired her own attorney. The completed case offers a recent example of how an adult child in the family used California’s court process.
Vivienne has also appeared as Vivienne Jolie in credits connected to the Broadway production The Outsiders. That professional credit did not establish a court-approved change.
The divorce ended after eight years.
Jolie filed for divorce in September 2016 after two years of marriage. The filing followed an incident aboard a private aircraft involving the couple and their children. Jolie later made abuse allegations against Pitt in court documents. Pitt denied the allegations. Federal authorities reviewed the flight and did not file criminal charges.
The former couple became legally single in 2019. They completed their divorce settlement in December 2024, ending more than eight years of proceedings. The settlement terms largely remained private. The custody dispute also narrowed as the children reached adulthood and became able to make independent legal and personal decisions.
September hearings remain pending.
The next confirmed steps are the two hearings in Los Angeles. Maddox is scheduled to appear first on Sept. 14, followed by Zahara on Sept. 28.
Until those decisions are entered, Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt and Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt remain their legal names. Their requested surnames will become official only if the court grants each petition.
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