Why Shiloh Jolie-Pitt Announced Proposed Name Change in Newspaper

A legal expert has explained why Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, the daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, issued a legal notice in the Los Angeles Times to officially announce her intention to drop her father’s last name.

Last week, the 18-year-old placed an ad in the LA newspaper, sharing that she filed a petition to change her name from Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Nouvel Jolie. This public announcement caused some confusion, but it’s actually a common procedure to accelerate the process of a new name being approved.

California-based attorney David Glass told People that Shiloh’s confirmation of her petition in the Los Angeles Times “could not have been avoided,” as she “has to file a formal petition with the court to change her name.”

Glass also noted that Shiloh “has to run an ad four weeks in a row before the hearing is scheduled, in addition to giving both of her parents written notification.”

According to a California courts guide, after filing the name-change petition, one must have an Order to Show Cause published in a newspaper for at least four weeks, which requires paying a fee to the publication. Once this process is completed, the approval of the new name is expected to proceed smoothly.

“I’ve never seen a name approval opposed in court,” Glass said. “Brad could come to court and say, for example, that Shiloh has been alienated against him by the mother. … But because she is no longer a minor, she can essentially call herself whatever she wants.”

On May 27, Shiloh commemorated her 18th birthday by filing to remove her father’s surname. She is not the only one in the family to want to drop “Pitt” from her name. Her 16-year-old sister Vivienne was recently credited on the Playbill for The Outsiders, for which she worked as a producer’s assistant, as “Vivienne Jolie.” Meanwhile, 19-year-old Zahara referred to herself as Zahara Marley Jolie, without “Pitt,” in a 2023 video from her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha.