Shiloh Jolie-Pitt’s request to legally change her name is likely to be granted and it could happen very soon.
“Anyone can file to change their name if they’re 18 years old, and obviously, parents can do it for a minor,” legal expert Neama Rahmani, who is not involved in the request, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, June 6. “And these requests in California, they’re liberally granted, so people can change their names as long as it’s not for a misleading reason.”
Rahmani explained that a person seeking to change their name couldn’t change it to match a public figure like Donald Trump or President Joe Biden. However, for Shiloh, 18, removing her father Brad Pitt’s last name is “absolutely acceptable and something that will be granted.”
Us confirmed that Shiloh filed paperwork to legally change her name on Monday, May 27, which was also her birthday. She requested to drop her father’s surname so she could go by her mother Angelina Jolie’s maiden name instead, which would make her Shiloh Jolie. The request has not been approved yet, but according to Rahmani they are “granted pretty quickly.”
“It’s a simple petition. A judge does have to grant it, and they’re almost always granted,” he explained. “Again, unless there’s some problem with the name or they’re using it to defraud or deceive.”
Earlier this month a source exclusively told Us that Shiloh “hired her own lawyer and paid for it herself.”
In addition to Shiloh, Angelina, 48, and Brad, 60, also share Maddox, 22, Pax, 19, Zahara, 18, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 15. Shiloh isn’t the only one of Pitt’s children to drop his moniker. When Zahara joined the sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha at Spelman College last year, she introduced herself using her mother’s last name only.
The college student referred to herself as Zahara Marley Jolie in a video shared by Essence at the time. “Coming all the way from the Golden State in the city that is full of angels, Los Angeles, California,” Zahara continued in the clip. “I am this line’s number seven.”
Us confirmed last month that Vivienne also dropped Pitt’s last name professionally. While working as a production assistant for Broadway’s The Outsiders, the musical Angelina is producing, she is listed as Vivienne Jolie in the show’s Playbill.
Angelina and Brad were together for nearly a decade before they wed in 2014. The exes called it quits in September 2016 and have been in a legal battle over their divorce and custody of their minor children. The pair’s divorce is still ongoing but a judge declared them legally single in 2019. However, they’re still at odds over custody of their kids and ownership over their French winery, Chateau Miraval.
An additional source exclusively told Us in March that the “negotiation process” for Angelina and Brad “was agonizing” but their legal battle could be coming to an end soon. Their agreement will include Angelina receiving primary custody of her and Brad’s minor children, which he “isn’t thrilled” about but ultimately agreed to it.
