Khloé Kardashian and her partner Tristan Thompson have officially changed their son Tatum's name over a year after he was born.
The reality TV star, aged 39, and her 32-year-old former partner welcomed their second child via surrogacy in July 2022.
The couple named their baby boy Tatum, which was only unveiled in May this year during the premiere episode of the third season of their hit reality series, The Kardashians.
While he was introduced to the public as Tatum Thompson, it has since emerged that he was first registered as 'Baby Kardashian', bearing his mother's surname which has now been changed.
Sources cited by TMZ indicated that the baby's birth certificate originally listed him as 'Baby Kardashian' before settling on the name Tatum.
In California, where the child was born, parents have the liberty to decide whether their child takes on the mother's last name, the father's last name, or a combination of both. This decision is typically permanent, necessitating a court order for any alterations.
According to new documents obtained by Page Six, on Thursday a Los Angeles judge granted that Tatum's last name be legally changed from Kardashian to Thompson.
The reasons why Tatum didn't take Thompson's surname initially remain undisclosed, but TMZ sources hinted that relationship troubles may have been a contributing factor.
Reports surfaced during the surrogacy journey that Thompson had fathered a child with another woman, Maralee Nichols, marking his alleged third infidelity. Kardashian expressed her deep betrayal on The Kardashians, emphasizing how Thompson concealed these affairs while rushing to complete the surrogacy process.
"I'm not sure that there is one thing that hurts more than the other. Everything is an act of betrayal, everything is a lie, everything is manipulation. It's deceit," she revealed on an episode of the show.
Nichols, who gave birth to Thompson's son Theo, claimed that she believed he was single and co-parenting when she initially met him at a party, per the Mirror.
This significant development follows Kardashian's revelation about her challenges in "connecting" with baby Tatum during an episode of the reality show.
Discussing her surrogacy journey with her sister Kim and Kourtney's ex-partner Scott Disick, Kardashian admitted feeling "less connected" to Tatum compared to the natural birth of her daughter, True, in 2018.
She explained: "I definitely buried my head in the sand during that pregnancy. I didn't digest what was happening. So I think when I went to the hospital, I really think that was the first time that it really registered [...] It has nothing to do with the baby. It's just, you're like, 'OK, we're having a baby! And this is my son, and I'm taking him home with me.'"
She also shared her guilt over the surrogacy experience, stating: "I felt really guilty that this woman just had my baby, and I take the baby, and then I go to another room, and you're sort of separated. It's such a transactional experience."
Kardashian added: "I wish someone was honest about surrogacy and the difference of it. It doesn't mean it's bad or good - it's still great, it's just very different."
After a year of confusion, Tatum's last name is now officially Thompson.
