The children will take the surname Jolie-Pitt

A US judge granted the actress' request that her children be known as Maddox Jolie-Pitt and Zahara Jolie-Pitt.

Jolie, 30, adopted four-year-old Maddox from Cambodia and Zahara, one, from Ethiopia. Pitt was named "the adoptive father-to-be" in court papers.

Last week, Pitt's publicist confirmed that Jolie was pregnant with the couple's first biological child.

Neither Jolie nor Pitt were present at the hearing in Santa Monica, California.

Superior Court Judge Linda Lefkowitz approved the motion during a closed hearing. It came a month after Jolie's lawyers filed the paperwork.

"The court granted the name change," Jolie's lawyer Evan Spiegel told reporters after the hearing.

Pitt divorced actress Jennifer Aniston in October after four-and-a-half years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences.

He had denied Jolie was involved in the split, and the couple did not publicly acknowledge their relationship for months, despite sightings of them together.