Suri Cruise Drops Father’s Surname, Legally Changes Name to Suri Noelle

Suri Cruise, the 20-year-old daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, has legally adopted the name Suri Noelle, according to Pennsylvania voter registration records. The records confirm her legal use of the name but do not establish when or where the change was approved. The change comes as she prepares to begin her third year at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Suri first publicly used “Noelle”, her mother’s middle name, at her high school graduation in 2024, when the LaGuardia High School graduation pamphlet listed her as “Suri Noelle.” This legal name change follows a similar trend among celebrity children. Several of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s children have also stopped publicly using the Pitt surname, though not all have pursued legal changes.

Reports have described Tom Cruise and Suri as estranged for years. Photographers have not captured them together publicly since 2012, when Katie Holmes filed for divorce after roughly five and a half years of marriage. Holmes then raised Suri primarily in New York City.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’s daughter Suri has reportedly dropped her famous surname as she prepares to begin her third year at university in Pittsburgh.

Entertainment Weekly reports that the 20-year-old student, who is attending Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has legally changed her surname from Cruise to Noelle, her mother’s middle name, according to voter registration records.

It was first reported in 2024 that Suri was going by a different surname when she graduated high school, with “Suri Noelle” listed in the graduation pamphlet at LaGuardia High School in Manhattan.

Cruise and Suri are believed to be estranged; the Mission: Impossible star has not been seen in public with his daughter since he and Holmes divorced in 2012.

The Independent

Suri’s Choice Deserves Respect, Not Scrutiny

Suri Noelle’s decision to stop using Cruise as her surname should not be treated as a public invitation to attack her character or interrogate her private life. She is an adult choosing how she wants to identify herself. Whatever personal history informed that choice belongs to her, and changing a name does not make someone “ungrateful.” Sometimes it marks independence, a fresh start or a desire to feel connected to the parent who raised you.

Reports have long described Suri and Tom Cruise as estranged, but neither has publicly explained the full circumstances. We can discuss the symbolism of her decision without pretending we know every detail of their relationship or making unsupported claims about Scientology, custody agreements or private family negotiations.

What stands out is the familiar double standard surrounding famous fathers. An absent or estranged father can continue enjoying public admiration while the child faces scrutiny for drawing a boundary. Meanwhile, the mother who remained present is often blamed, accused of manipulation or treated as responsible for repairing a relationship she did not break.

Suri’s choice also reflects a broader cultural shift. More adults are rejecting surnames connected to painful family histories and choosing names that represent the people, values or identities they want to carry forward. I don’t see this as revenge. I see it as agency—especially in a world that expects us to carry patriarchal surnames.