ع
Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt and Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt have completed the newspaper publication step in their effort to legally become known solely by their mother’s surname, according to reports from People magazine and other outlets. The notices appeared in a Los Angeles legal journal detailing the requested change from Jolie-Pitt to Jolie for both, with Zahara’s hearing set for Sept. 28 and Maddox’s for Sept. 14. This development follows Shiloh Jolie-Pitt’s name change in 2024 and builds on earlier public uses of the Jolie name by some of the siblings in academic and professional settings.[[1]](https://people.com/angelina-jolie-brad-pitts-daughter-zahara-son-maddox-newspaper-announcement-to-drop-pitt-last-name-12017047)
The couple’s divorce, initiated by Jolie in 2016 after they met on the set of the 2005 film Mr and Mrs Smith, has included protracted legal battles over custody and assets. A source close to Pitt told BBC News he regretted the family developments while respecting his children’s autonomy. Jolie stated in a 2020 Vogue interview that she pursued the split for the wellbeing of her family, a detail echoed across multiple retrospective accounts of the separation.
Broader data indicates such surname changes often intersect with family estrangement trends. A 2025 YouGov poll of more than 4,000 American adults found 38 percent reported being estranged from at least one family member, including 16 percent from a parent. Separate Harris Poll research placed the share of adults estranged from an immediate family member at 35 percent.[[2]](https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/52733-family-estrangement-how-often-and-why-it-happens)
One California resident interviewed by the BBC described her own name change last month after years of using dual surnames following her parents’ divorce when she was a toddler. Hannah, 25, switched to Leonard-Ripley to combine her mother’s maiden name with her husband’s, saying she had no emotional tie to her father’s surname and faced frequent confusion in professional and social contexts. “I’ve never felt like my last name reflected the love that encompasses my life,” she said. “And I wanted to make sure that my name reflected that. My mother’s love and also my husband’s love are very abundant and so important to me.”
In the United Kingdom, a woman named Maggie from Lincolnshire told the same outlet she changed her surname at age 16 to match her mother’s after limited contact with her father and experiences of teasing at school over his name that included a profanity. “I didn’t want to be associated with it,” Maggie said. She added that the switch brought relief and allowed her to feel “more like myself” while wanting “to be part of my mum’s family.”
Experts link such decisions to identity and psychological needs. University of Chester lecturer Dr Harry Parkin, who has studied the history of names, told the BBC that surnames carry a close connection to identity and that changes frequently signal a wish to disconnect. Family counsellor Dr Becca Bland described the step as a defence mechanism that helps separate individuals from traumatic or problematic associations. Dr Lucy Blake at the University of the West of England, whose work focuses on family relationships, noted that estrangement typically involves considerable thought over time rather than haste.[[3]](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2ln9l60g5o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss)
California law requires a formal petition, four weeks of newspaper publication and a court appearance for adults seeking name changes, a process that Hannah said cost hundreds of dollars including a $400 filing fee. Comparable rules apply in the UK through deed poll or court enrollment, with fees starting at £35 in Northern Ireland and £40 in Scotland for official recording. The Jolie-Pitt cases have drawn attention to how high-profile family breakdowns can mirror wider patterns seen in estrangement research from Cornell University and other institutions.
