LOS ANGELES: A US judge on January 19 granted pregnant star Angelina Jolie’s request that her adopted children be allowed to take the name of her famous lover Brad Pitt, a precursor to adoption.

Santa Monica Superior Judge Linda Lefkowitz’s decision means that four-year-old Maddox Jolie and Zahara Jolie, one, can now adopt the hyphenated surname Jolie-Pitt.

“I can just confirm that the court has granted Jolie’s name-change petition to change Zahara and Maddox’s name to Zahara Jolie-Pitt and Maddox Jolie-Pitt,” said the Lara Croft star’s attorney, Evan Spiegel.

In court papers filed on December 2 as part of Jolie’s name-change petition, Pitt, 42, is referred to as “the adoptive father-to-be” of each child. Neither Jolie nor Pitt were in court to hear the ruling.

When asked if the two planned to marry, the lawyer said he would “not comment on my clients’ personal lives.”