Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's daughter, Zahara, legally drops her father's surname

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter Zahara has officially removed her father’s surname from her legal name, marking another development involving the former Hollywood couple’s children.

A Los Angeles judge approved Zahara’s petition on Sept. 28, changing her name from Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt to Zahara Marley Jolie .

Court records show there were no objections to the request, and the decree was signed and filed following a hearing at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.

The 21-year-old had already been using “ Zahara Marley Jolie ” publicly before the court made the change permanent. At her May graduation from Spelman College in Atlanta, she was introduced by that name while receiving her diploma. She had also used the name during her Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority induction ceremony in November 2023.

Zahara filed her petition earlier this year, and legal notices concerning the proposed change were subsequently published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal.

The publication was part of California’s legal process for name-change petitions, giving others an opportunity to object before the hearing.

Her attorney, Peter Kenneth Levine , appeared remotely during Monday’s proceeding, while Judge Virginia Keeny presided over the hearing.

Zahara’s decision follows similar changes

Zahara’s legal name change comes as several of Jolie and Pitt’s six children have moved away from using their father’s surname.

Their eldest son, Maddox , 25, officially changed his name from Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt to Maddox Chivan Jolie earlier in September.

Shiloh , 20, made a similar move in 2024 after filing a petition to remove “Pitt” from her name shortly after turning 18.

Vivienne , 18, has also petitioned to change her legal name from Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt to Vivienne Marcheline Jolie. Her request remains pending, with a court hearing scheduled for November.

Meanwhile, Knox has reportedly used Jolie rather than Jolie-Pitt on his high school diploma. Pax , 22, hasn’t publicly announced a comparable legal name change.

The developments come against the backdrop of Jolie and Pitt’s prolonged separation and divorce. Jolie filed for divorce in September 2016 after two years of marriage. The former couple were declared legally single in 2019, but their remaining divorce disputes continued for several more years before they reached a settlement in December 2024.

The reasons for Zahara’s decision haven’t been publicly explained in detail in the court documents. However, people close to both Jolie and Pitt have offered sharply different perspectives on the family’s relationship.

A source close to Pitt characterized the name changes as part of what they described as parental alienation.

“This is the latest installment in what complete and total alienation looks like with an extra topping of trying to deflect attention from their ex’s success. Anyone who has actually been a part of this for the last ten years would know that there’s only one side that talks about and has tried to weaponize the kids,” the source stated.

A source close to Jolie rejected that interpretation and said the hearing had been scheduled months in advance as part of the normal legal process.