Very serious question. I checked the blogs about this, and haven't seen any information surrounding the contest, other than the update ~3 weeks ago about one of the prizes:

Has there been any discussion from users/ect about taking part in this contest? I read about the contest when it was announced, and laughed at it. Very inventive by Bethesda to have such a contest. I told my wife, and we joked around about it, how funny such a contest was.

Then, by (and I mean this) miraculous circumstances, we found out my wife is pregnant 3 days ago. This a (I assume) PG forum, so I will just say that we were actively trying not to have children, so the circumstance is.......Very strange.

And the craziest part? Her due date is indeed 11/11/11.

We've talked about doing the contest, and she is actually open to the idea. Given that the time for conception of the dragon born is past, I would assume that others may have come forth inquiring about Dovahkiin. So....Any other challengers?

You're really going to name your kid Dovahkiin? Like... middle name, at least? Because I'm pretty sure the contest was only a joke... Then again, you name you're kid Dovahkiin and go up to them saying you want your reward I bet they'd do something for your trouble.

My buddy found out his wife is pregnant and her due date is in November. You might not win.

I say go for it, change it after you get the prizes.

Haha sorry, all I can think of is not only the kid being an accident but naming him/her Dovahkiin.

Although if its a girl you could call her by "Dove" which would be pretty cool imo. Id probably do it but Im also an [censored] with a horrible sense of humor, thats why I stay single.

Congrats btw.

Congrats on your soon-to-be newborn And to have the due date right on 11/11/11 without even planning it, you're extremely lucky!

If you are indeed going to name him Dovahkiin, I would chnage that name by the time he/she goes to school

"Doh....Dova...Dovaking...Dovahkiin?"
"Here!"

We may. I guess that is why I am posting. I am really unsure if the contest is a joke or not. Acclaim did the exact same thing in 2002, offering a reward for any family that named their kid Turok (they also had contests for people to change their name to Turok for a year as well).

They amended the original post with part of the reward for doing such a thing (free Bethesda games for life - past, present and future), but said there was far more.

As for middle/first name - I guess it depends on the actual *rules*, which Bethesda was light on. Given that my wife and I have been together for a long time, and passed around the idea of naming our child after a character from our favorite video game(s) and had actually settled on another, similarly inspired name, the idea of naming the child Dovahkiin for fun, profit and glory may not be that crazy of an idea.

If you did indeed name your child Dovahkiin as a first name, it wouldn't be so bad. You could always use a nick name, middle name, or abbreviation which would be fine. I mean, the baby would grow up with every ID Software/Bethesda game, what more would it want?

...Hmm... I suppose, if I were little Dovahkiin and I grew up with free Bethesda games that would be an upside. But, I dunno if the contest was real or not, I'd definitely get confirmation before making any decisions on naming your kid. But all the same, congratulations.

Lol. If you guys actually have the child on 11/11, I say go for it. Ask Bethesda about the conditions.

Congrats dude, just contact bethesda about it and see whats up before you name your child Dovakiin. Or dont, just to be funny and have a good story about being nerdy parents.

Well I guess we know what you WON'T be doing that day! HeHeHeHeHeHeHe!!!!!

Congratz anyway dude!

I would change my name to Dovahkiin for Bethesda and ID software games for life. I would keep it to. lol

Apparently it was for the first name only. Still it was partly a joke while either knowingly or unknowingly getting free press(Not as bad as "Superproducer" Solar attempting to use Guru of Gang Starr's death and his works as free press.). Thr reward is most likely open as they've realized some fanatic will really do it. Congrats to your wife on the pregnancy but really...do you think it'd be fair to the kid o be named Dovahkiin? At the most its passable if the kids a boy whose either of one of the less-spoken European ancestry from The Scandinavians to the Eurasian Russians. If the kids african and doesn't grow up to be a wreck he could pull the name off. But really think of the kid before the prize. Of coarse I understand at this point your probably just having a few laughs over this thing.

Whatever you do end up naming your child, congratulations!

I think Dovahkiin's a great name for a child. It seems strange to us because we instantly relate "Dovahkiin" to the Dragonborn protagonist of Skyrim, but taken out of that context it's just exotic/interesting, and no doubt very rare. I personally wish my parents had been a bit more imaginative than "Benjamin".

In any case, I'm not a challenger, but congrats on your news.

Hm... seems like something your kid would get pretty pissed off at you later for. "You named me this ridiculous name, for a COMPETITION!?" Having a child is supposed to be a special experience, and I don't think you should trivialise it with that.

Not trying to judge you if you choose to do it, but I'm just warning you that it's possible you'd regret it later.

Middle name, change it after a month and never tell your kid

Congratulations on the good news, I myself became a dad 2 weeks ago.

You want to hope your wife goes over her due date so you can get some undisturbed Skyrimming (whch sounds like something out the Karma Sutra).

But don't name him or her Dovahkiin. What seems like a good idea now may not a few years down the line.

Change it? Why? Would you really deprive the kid of the chance to stand up and roar "DRAGONBORN!" when the teacher gives up getting it right?

Here's my advice... just name the kid Dovahkiin without seeking any confemation what-so-ever, this way the devs won't be able to deny you your priza as they would if you had asked 'em and they had answered "No, sorry but it was only a joke."

Doesn't matter if you change it before they know. They WILL know eventually.(You'll need the legal name change document for some things later in life.)

Kids do not even have a chance these days....

Amen, I know a girl named La-ah(La-dash-uh), and thats how it's spelled

its a risk tho,
- ur kid would end up being bullied all the time by people like me when i was a teen ( unless ur kid ends up being a very cool person in highschool )
- or the game will actually be so cool that the kids who bully your kid, get grounded by their parents who were an elder scrolls fan and played skyrim.

either way its completely irresponsible and plain aweful what you are considering to do to your future baby which sounds alot like what i should do in your situation and i dont recommend you to do it because as much as im fine with my personality, many other people dont like me for not taking anything too serieus. ipersonally i think life is a joke anyway.

anyway congrants on your soon to be the dragonborn. ahem.. i meant dovakhiin

Idk why everyone keeps mentioning the name so much, since it isn't even part of the challenge. The original blog exact text describes the date as a challenge, and the idea for naming the child Dovakhiin isn't even a part of it, just a crazy idea added on to that by the devs afterward.

If I were you, focus on the DOB and don't worry about the name. Tell Bethesda and if your child is born on 11/11/11, you're all set. The name would be pretty interesting, but since there's no idea for a reward for that from the devs, why bother?

Whatever the case, good luck!