Zahara Drops Pitt Name
Zahara Jolie-Pitt Moves to Legally Remove Pitt Surname, Following Siblings' Actions
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Key Points
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Maddox Jolie-Pitt reportedly filed to drop Pitt from his surname in May 2026, continuing the family pattern after Shiloh's 2024 move.
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The four public-notice publication dates for Zahara's petition were June 16, June 23, June 30, and July 7, 2026 in the Los Angeles Daily Journal.
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Zahara's ties to Spelman College include joining the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and using Jolie as her last name during college life, including being introduced as Zahara Marley Jolie at graduation.
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A Brad Pitt-connected source told TMZ that Angelina Jolie's influence is driving the family rift, describing the moves as a very sad campaign to alienate the children from their father.
Zahara Jolie-Pitt is moving to legally drop her father's surname, completing the required public-notice step by publishing her petition in the Los Angeles Daily Journal for four straight weeks, according to Page Six. The notices ran on June 16, June 23, June 30, and July 7, 2026. A court hearing is set for September 28, 2026, where a judge will review the petition if no objections are filed.
If approved, she will legally become Zahara Marley Jolie — dropping Pitt entirely. She is not the first in the family to make this move, and she likely will not be the last.
A Family Pattern of Dropping the Pitt Name
Zahara's sister Shiloh made the same move in 2024, becoming one of the first Jolie-Pitt children to legally drop Brad Pitt's surname. Now the trend is spreading fast. Brother Maddox filed his own public notice just days before Zahara did, completing his four-week newspaper publication in May 2026, according to In Touch Weekly.
That means at least three of the six Jolie-Pitt children are now in the process of — or have already completed — removing Pitt from their names. The moves are happening quickly and in close succession, signaling a coordinated shift within the family.
Zahara Already Living as Zahara Marley Jolie
Long before any legal paperwork, Zahara had already stopped using the Pitt name in daily life. At Spelman College, she joined the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and went by Jolie. At her graduation, she was formally introduced as Zahara Marley Jolie, according to Reality Tea.
The legal name change would simply make official what has already been true in practice. For Zahara, the Pitt name had already been set aside long before the Los Angeles Daily Journal ran her petition.
How the Legal Name-Change Process Works
California law requires anyone seeking a legal name change to publish a notice in a local newspaper for four consecutive weeks. This gives the public — and any interested party — a chance to file a written objection before the court hearing. Zahara satisfied that requirement between June 16 and July 7, 2026, according to The Hollywood Gossip.
With no objections filed, the September 28 hearing could be a formality. A judge would then sign off on the change, and Zahara Marley Jolie would become her legal name.
Brad Pitt's Side Calls It a Sad Campaign
People close to Brad Pitt are not staying quiet. A source connected to Pitt told TMZ that Angelina Jolie is driving the name removals, calling the moves "a very sad campaign to alienate the children from their father." The source framed the changes as part of a larger rift between Pitt and his kids.
Pitt and Jolie have been locked in a bitter legal battle for years following their 2016 separation. The name changes add a very public and personal dimension to an already deeply contested split. Pitt has not made any public statement about Zahara's petition.
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