Here's a good way to ensure your kid gets his lunch money stolen on a regular basis.
Dovahkiin Tom Kellermeyer
Meet Dovahkiin Tom Kellermeyer. That's right, Dovahkiin. As in, the protagonist of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Born 11/11/11 -- the same day that the game was released -- he's made his family the winners (?) of a contest that ensures free Bethesda games for life.
Bethesda, in a publicity stunt announced in February, promised lifelong free games to anyone who named their child (which had to be born on 11/11) after the character. Whether the company expected anyone to take it up on the offer is another matter entirely.
Megan and Eric Kellermeyer did just that, though.
In
a blog post, the parents acknowledge the name could cause their son some issues, but say it's one they truly love and likely would have chosen even if Bethesda hadn't launched the contest.
"I wanted him to have a unique name," writes mother Megan Kellermeyer, who adds that she's not a gamer. "I am so picky about boy names that I was having a lot of trouble finding just the right one. We've toyed with Dovahkiin and the ramifications of naming a child that name, and that name being based on a video game character (however awesome), and what impact that would have on him. But the more I thought of it, the more I settled on Dovahkiin, contest or no."
Dovahkiin's parents say they told friends and family members of their decision before their son was born and very few raised concerns. And with a more common middle name, he'll always have an out.
"He will have a perfectly normal and common middle name if the first name becomes too much for him or us or we just want to call him a nickname," says Megan.
Still, there are some upsides to the name, despite the almost inevitable playground taunting it will likely engender at some point. For one thing, how many kids have
their own theme song?
Plus, there's that whole 'free Bethesda games for life' thing, which is pretty rad. Unless, of course, it turns out that he doesn't like video games.