Zahara and Maddox Jolie take steps to drop Pitt surname

Zahara Jolie and Maddox Jolie have taken a major legal step toward officially removing the surname of their father, Brad Pitt. The siblings recently completed California's required newspaper publication process as part of their petitions to change their last names from Jolie-Pitt to Jolie.

Page Six reported that court documents reveal 21-year-old Zahara Jolie published her legal notice in the Los Angeles Daily Journal once a week for four consecutive weeks. Her notices appeared on June 16, June 23, June 30, and July 7. Under California law, publishing these notices is a mandatory step before a judge can approve a legal name change. A court hearing for her petition is scheduled for September 28, and a judge may grant the change if no written objections are filed before that date.

Court records show that 24-year-old Maddox Jolie completed the same requirement. His notices were published in the same newspaper on June 10, June 17, June 24, and July 1. He previously petitioned to legally change his name from Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt to Maddox Chivan Jolie, citing "personal" reasons.

Zahara Jolie filed her official paperwork to drop the Pitt surname last month. She previously introduced herself as Zahara Marley Jolie during her graduation ceremony at Spelman College. Several other children of the former couple have already distanced themselves from the surname. Their daughter Vivienne Jolie was credited without the Pitt name in a Broadway playbill, and Shiloh Jolie legally dropped the name after turning 18.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie share six children, including Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne. The couple separated in 2016. Most of their children have grown distant from their father, though Pax is reported to still maintain a close relationship with his father's family.