The next generation in Hollywood is making a claim on the family name.
Brad Pitt's daughters, Shiloh, Zahara, and Vivienne, are among the many celebrity kids who have chosen to ditch their parents' famous last names.
Shiloh will legally apply for the change in May 2024, while her sisters will be debuting their shorter names in public for the first time.
The siblings are famous for following in their mother Angelina Jolie's footsteps.
The Maleficent actress did the same when she changed her last name amid her estrangement from her father, Jon Voight.
Read on to find out which celebrity kids are making big decisions and why.
From Suri Cruise to Suri Noel
When Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' daughter, Suri, graduates from high school in June 2024, her name will be listed as Suri Noelle in the ceremony program.
Noelle is the “Dawson's Creek” alum's middle name, and the surname is in honor of her mother.
Tom, who divorced Holmes in 2012 and has not been linked to Suri for years, made headlines after missing his daughter's graduation in New York City and attending Taylor Swift's Erasu Tour show in London the following day.
Shiloh Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Jolie
Shiloh wasted no time in dropping her father's surname, and on her 18th birthday she applied to change her name from Jolie-Pitt to Jolie.
Entertainment Tonight reported in June 2024 that the girl “hired her own attorney and paid her own fees.”
A source told People magazine that Pitt is “upset to find out” that the news has become so public eight years after his contentious divorce proceedings with Angelina.
Zahara Jolie-Pitt to Zahara Jolie
Pitt's oldest daughter made waves when she proudly shouted out her shortened name during the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority induction ceremony in November 2023.
“Zahara Marley Jolie,” a Spelman College student yelled.
Social media users reacted to the apparent insult, with one writing: “Oh Zahara said her last name is Jolie, not Jolie-Pitt.”
Vivienne Jolie-Pitt to Vivienne Jolie
Vivian appeared alongside her mother in the Broadway version of The Outsiders in 2024, and appeared to be an insult to her father when the show premiered in May of that year.
The assistant was listed in the show's playbill as Vivienne Jolie.
Like Zahara, it is unclear whether the little girl will legally keep her surname Jolie-Pitt.
aJelena Jolie Voight To Angelina Jolie
Angelina had an on-again, off-again relationship with her famous father for many years before legally changing her name in 2002.
“I don't want to publicly explain why my relationship with my father was bad,” the actress said at the time. “I decided it wasn't healthy for me to be around him.”
Voight has continued to speak out about Angelina despite their estrangement, and congratulated her and Vivienne when The Outsider won a Tony Award in June 2024.
Tanner Elle Schneider to Elle King
Before pursuing a career in the music industry, Elle King dropped her father Rob Schneider's surname and took her mother London King's.
“I wanted to be my own person,” she explained to People magazine in February 2023. “I want to build a life for myself and know that I've achieved it.”
“My dad and I have a beautiful, really amazing, wonderful, loving relationship with great boundaries,” Elle clarified at the time. “I love my dad so much.”
Malia Obama to Malia Ann
The eldest daughter of Barack and Michelle Obama has dropped her parents' surname in her creative endeavors.
The Harvard University graduate was credited as Maria Ann when her short film “The Heart” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024.
Notably, Anne is the former First Daughter's middle name.
Michael Neeson to Michael Richardson
Liam Neeson's son Michael legally changed his surname for emotional reasons after his mother, Natasha Richardson, died in a skiing accident in 2009.
The Taken star's eldest son will now be called Michael Richardson instead of Michael Neeson.
Liam praised the decision in a 2020 interview with Radio Andy, calling it “touching” and a “lovely tribute.”
From Nicolas Coppola to Nicolas Cage
Following his roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Rumble Fish, Nicolas Cage changed his last name to distinguish himself from his uncle, Francis Ford Coppola.
The new name was inspired by “a combination of Marvel Comics' Luke Cage and avant-garde composer John Cage,” the Wicker Man star told Wired magazine in 2022.
“That gives you a good idea of what I've done since then,” Cage joked.
Xavier Alexander Musk to Vivian Jenna Wilson
In April 2022, just before her 18th birthday, Elon Musk's daughter Vivian applied to legally change her name and gender.
The girl, who chose her mother Justine Wilson's surname, cited “gender identity and the fact that I no longer live with my biological father and do not wish to be associated with him in any way” as her motivation.
After Vivian's name change was confirmed, Elon spoke out about their feud, joking that as a father of 12 children, “you can't win them all.”
