Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter Shiloh given legal approval to remove father’s last name

Shiloh had previously filed paperwork to change her name on her 18th birthday

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s daughter, Shiloh, has been granted legal permission to drop her father’s surname.

The 18-year-old previously filed for her legal name to be changed from Shiloh Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Jolie on her birthday in May, and published an announcement of the decision in the Los Angeles Times as part of the legal process.

According to California law, a judge can only approve a petition to change someone’s name one month after they have published legal forms in a newspaper. Shiloh’s petition was granted on Monday (19 August), as per official court documents obtained by TMZ.

Shiloh’s younger sister, Vivienne, also appears to have dropped Pitt from her name, according to the programme for her Broadway play The Outsiders.

The 16-year-old, who is part of the play’s production team alongside mother Angelina, is named in the official programme as Vivienne Jolie.

In 2023, the former couple’s daughter Zahara, 19, also seemed to no longer use her father’s surname, as she was introduced to her university’s sorority as Zahara Marley Jolie.

Shiloh, however, is thought to be the first of their children to embark on the legal process required to officially change names.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s daughter Shiloh has been granted legal permission to drop Pitt from her surname (Getty Images)

Jolie, 49, and Pitt, 60, began dating in 2004 after meeting on the set of Mr & Mrs Smith and married in 2014. They have six children together: Zahara, Shiloh, 20-year-old Pax, 22-year-old Maddox, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 16.

The couple announced their split in 2016, and the break-up has been an acrimonious one. Jolie is thought to have filed for divorce from the Fight Club actor after an incident on a September 2016 private flight from France to Los Angeles.

Court filings obtained by The New York Times claimed that Pitt “choked one of the children and struck another in the face” and “grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her”. It also claimed that “he poured beer on Jolie” and “poured beer and red wine on the children”.

Vivienne, left, recently only used her mother’s surname in a Broadway programme (AFP via Getty Images)

Pitt vehemently denied the claims at the time, and was never charged following an investigation into the allegations.

The actors became embroiled in a further legal row in 2021 when Pitt sued Jolie for “secretly” selling her shares in French winery Chateau Miraval, which they bought together during their relationship.

Jolie’s legal team recently issued a statement asking Pitt to end the battle so that their family can “heal”. This came after a Los Angeles judge ruled Jolie would have to submit eight years’ worth of non-disclosure agreements as part of the ongoing dispute.