Expecting More…
Due to the overwhelming responses we’ve been getting (good and bad), I started another blog post. This one I hope gets quoted like the other did but I fear that has left the train– journalists like to rehash what someone else already wrote or talked about, no offense. Still, here’s to expecting more:
To all those who have voiced their opinions positively about our naming our son Dovahkiin, thank you for your kind words and support. To all who have voiced disapproval and scorn, I say only this: We were the bullied. We were teased in school, as many kids were, are, and shall be. But we never became what others wished to change us into. We didn’t conform for the sake of conformity, nor squash our true selves into oblivion (no pun intended). We saw something so special in this contest beyond the monetary and even beyond the fame. It was a statement: “I am me by choice, not by the design of others. I will not be shut down by they.” For those worried of the incessant teasing, don’t be concerned. We all get teased eventually and for nothing at all. Just like his parents, he will survive and even thrive in his own individuality.
As I stated in the other blog post, if in the end the name is too much, he has the choice of going by the middle name Tom, the name of my husband’s step-father who passed away a mere three weeks before Dovahkiin’s arrival. And when he actually reaches school age, what with people online able to call themselves/name themselves anything they wish, will this really be that big a deal for kids? We don’t believe so but only time will tell. And we will always be there for him.
Awesome name, awesome game and seem like cool & smart creative, fun parents. The boring conformist hater squares need to back off.
P.S. My middle name was named after a sci-fi fantasy novel character who was like an alien forest dwelling shape shifter – I made it through school and although I got teased like everyone else does for one reason or another, I had many friends and did very well and loved my school years!
Your amazing parents and brave too! Your son is unique and there will not be 50 of him in his grade! Thank god you didn’t name him Edward! Don’t let anyone get you down! I have such respect for you! If he gets bullied it will be by the children of the people currently being rude about what you chose to name YOUR child! He will be strong and brave. Stay true to you! Don’t regret his name!
When I was in school, I had the biggest crush on a guy named Skylar. Now, in BFE Louisiana, no one would dare name their kid anything but John, Mary, Paul, Rebecca… but this guy? Skylar. His name made him even more amazing to me. Chicks dig crazy names!
I think the name is fantastic and that he won’t be bullied. He has a great story to tell about his name. Congratulations. PS: When those people criticizing you guys pay your bills then maybe you could give a damn, since then…. f…them.
I noticed in the pic that’s you got the pc and 360 version. Did you get the ps3 version? Can I have it? Pretty please!!
Haha, We actually purchased the Xbox version knowing that it was very possible we’d get the PC version later. My brother purchased the PC version and we just stuck them both together for a little dual wielding action. So sorry, no PS3 version from us, although we do own one and play the heck out of LBP2.
The name is amazing. The circumstances are amazing. think about how little school matters, if people are worried about bullying. Looking back, would you change something awesome about yourself if it would have saved you a little teasing from some jerks who would do it anyways? Elementary I don’t even remember, middle school sucked for EVERYONE. High school everyone is insecure, and part of a clique. BUT, I can’t imagine how fucking awesome it would be if right now when everyone is talking about Skyrim for example I could say “Oh, yeah, i’m going to get that game for free.”
“What, why??”
“I’ve gotten their games free my whole life, and I always will, I am dragonborn dude. Check some old articles, I’m like their mascot.” *Jaws drop*
FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
my last name is “Martin” and I would get teased on occasion. If kids want to tease you, they will find something. And it doesn’t matter. What matters is little dovahkiin being a god damned badass the rest of his life, and what kind of person he is.
Yeah what he said!
hahaha:) Thanks, Dan. That’s right!
Hey! I congratulate you for your success. When he finally reaches school age, I think everybody will already know him as a hero. Who would like to pick on a Dragonborn? I’m 21 and I’d rather beg for mercy…
Good luck with everything you have going or are planning!
I just learned of your story and felt compelled to reply! Not a day goes by that my husband and I are not criticized for naming our youngest son, Severus Danger.
I’ve learned that most of those negative people aren’t passionate about too many things, and couldn’t possibly understand loving a character enough to name a child after it, like my husband and I did.
I think it’s fantastic that you chose a name for your son that wasn’t typical, or trendy {maybe I’m biased and I don’t care}. I wish you all tons of luck, and hope that the negativity abates soon. :)
Thanks Monique. To be honest though the response has been overwhelming positive. This is the internet, and if theres one key to survival on the internet its this, “Don’t feed the trolls!”
All in all though, we’re proud of our choice. No amount of crying, threatning, complaining, or judging is going to change that. Most people that have complained haven’t read our reasoning. The ones that have are merely coming from a completely different perspective. They don’t BELIEVE what we’ve typed, and theres no changing their minds. Its practically a political debate between a hardcore republican and democrat.
People will always judge. Fact of life. I have a friend whose name is Daniel Martin. He was called him Fartin Martin in school. DANIEL FREAKING MARTIN GOT MADE FUN OF FOR HIS NAME! People can be awful, and people can be wonderful, and people can be both at different times.
But…sometimes it is fun to troll the trolls, especially when they try to come up with some moronic reply that is just a repetition of everything they have said beforehand, and they cannot come up with an intelligent response
Oh! And also? My son was born on 10.10.10. Love those auspicious dates. :D
If people want to bash against names, then they have issues. That is how names are made. I bet that the first person named Susan was teased about her name. Now it is commonplace. My name, Jim, was part of a teasefest when we were learning about conifers in school. Why? Because they are also known as gymnosperms. Gymnosperm, Jim-no-sperm…yeah. Jerks will be jerks, no matter WHAT the name.
Bravo and bravo! I was also considering this, but my baby’s not making his appearance until the 22nd… So, since the world now has a “Dovahkiin”, we will be continuing with our beloved son’s original name: Kenji D. Cruz. Our older son is named RyuIchi and we took so much grief for our boys’ names… But I wouldn’t trade them for the world!! God bless/good luck!!!
You did the right thing!
I envy that name becouse i have nothing special about mine :(
Let me just say congrats again on the great new baby boy you two. I missed this apparent whirlwind of Internet fame you’ve been experiencing, so although I may be late to the party on this, I’m glad Bethesda acknowledged you two for the honor of having their character’s name given to a new baby. I’m sorry for the negativity and bashing you’ve been getting. Darn Internet! >_<
Also, I haven’t played Elder Scrolls, so I am curious ho you pronounce Dovahkiin. I’ve been reading it in my head as Dough-Vah-Keen.
Check out this vid, it’s the first trailer of the Skyrim. There you can hear Dovahkiin =D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZMdgEi4siY
I just want to say, that you and your son (and your daughter) have my greatest cheers!
It’s a great and brave thing. He was born the 11/11/11! His name means Dragonborn! I envy him! XD I think it’s, like, a magical day and name. Yeah, it’s freak, but, he was ‘born’ the same day of a great hero!
I cannot express all my admiration and hapiness about this. It’s a cool name. It’s a magical day. Its the name of a hero! I just hope you’ll understand me! ^^
(Sorry for my bad english, I’m spanish XD)
A very awesome name in my opinion. Having the name Dragonborn is totally off the charts! Wish the best for the young Dovahkiin.
Good for you :)
Your kid has one of the worst names I’ve ever heard and your webcomic is terrible.
Thank you for your constructive and informative criticism Anonymous! This is one we’re SURE to listen to as it is chock full of detailed reasoning!
Bravely brave Anonymous, brave Anonymous ran away…
Bravely brave Anonymous, brave Anonymous ran away…
(This didn’t seem to go through last time, so I’ll try again)
Hi guys, it’s Arno. You know, from Beedoo! fame? I actually got to this post because I was writing about Dovahkiin on our blog-thingy (that’s a technical term) and wanted to link to shards. In my post I just repeated what I posted on the bethesba blog to the people objecting to the name, and I’d like to repeat it here as well:
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Unlike most of the commenters here, I actually know the parents of this baby. I hope me being informed does not disqualify me from an internet discussion! I have stayed at their house. They are very nice people, with a room full of board games, and a very cute and sweet little girl. And now a little boy to add to that as well.
Have they ruined the kid’s life, as some people say? I say: get a grip. I -have- been bullied as a child for years and I can honestly tell you that it’s a very damaging, very humiliating experience that never seems to end. It leaves cracks in the foundation on which you have to build your personality and your life, and I will take it with me for as long as I live. However, while I’ve been bullied for many things, my name was not one of them.
Bullies are insecure. They look for those who cannot or will not fight back so that they can feel and look strong. They need to tear down someone’s worth to secure their own. And the people who cannot or will not fight back, such as myself, often suffer from their own form of insecurity: a fear of offending, of not fitting in, of being different. It’s that fear that breeds submission, and it’s the submission that makes you such a safe and tempting target.
I would never have named my son Dovahkiin. Never. It’s hard to spell and it’s unusual. It stands out and invites scrutiny. My son would have a simple, every day name, and I would likely teach him to not stand out and not stand up, just the way I was, back then. But Dovahkiin (or ‘Tom’ for short, I presume) has different parents. He has parents who think naming a child after a game character is FUN, and who will stand before the world to do just that, everyone be damned.
So honestly, I think he will be just fine. He has great, loving parents who will teach him what he needs to know to shine and, to stand out and to be an all-round good and loved person. It’s that fear of not fitting in you guys really ought to to worry about.
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Congratulations, guys!
Apologies, Arno… For some reason you got dumped in our spam folder but I saved you!
And after reading your post, I must thank you, sir, for your kind and knowledged words. And I miss you guys:) I still read Arno and Beedoo! sittin in a tree, by the way! Beed! keeps gettin’ better at her art stuffs! But back to the blog post, your honest and in-the-know outlook really stands out as one of my favorite proponent comments. Thanks again:) I’ll be posting pics of our son here soon. You can find them all on Facebook right now if you are into that. The pics are MUCH better than that one that went round the world… If only we’d realized it would travel so far! I would have demanded the ten extra seconds to take a DECENT pic of him to send to Bethesda!
And I thank you for the compliment. It was something that I felt was necessary to write. :)
Thank you for keeping up with us. And I agree: Beedoo!’s art keeps getting better. I am very pleased.
As for why we are spam… We’re in Flagstaff right now. Who would ever trust a message from Flagstaff, huh? ;)
Hi guys, it’s Arno. You know, from Beedoo!? ;)
We seem to be on the same track here. I had something to say about this myself. However, no matter what I do, my post will not get through. Since I figured that it may have been caused by the length of the post, I’ll just try refering you to what I wrote on our blog-thingy (this is a technical term). Click my name or go to:
http://beedoo.0catch.com/SittingInATree/0079/VacationContent2.htm
Now watch as all my previous posts suddenly appear all at once… ;)
haha;) You got it, RB! Well, you got tossed into spam cuz yer foreign. I dun understand it but I told it you weren’t spam. Maybe it’ll listen this time?
Hey JG! I just now read all the blog posts and Arno’s post, so I just NOW connected the name ‘Dovahkiin’ with Skyrim. Despite having heard the Bethesda guys talk about the game (and have the most awesome, ginormous, dragon on their booth), up until now I was just thinking, “Wow, that a really beautiful and unique name.” Now I’m thing, “Wow, that’s a really beautiful, unique, and FUN name!”
You already know this, but ‘cuz I love ya, I’ll tell you again (no, actually, I just want to make sure the world knows). You guys are awesome parents, his name is awesome, people really need to get lives, and your reasons for naming him are the right ones.
Thanks, RS:) *hugs* Glad ya found us here! The others of Arcadia met my oldest and I’m sure they can also vouch for my complete sanity… Well, as far as Arcadians can gauge sanity. Hm. Maybe not the best folks to vouch for sanity… Never mind ;P
Oh, also for the rest of the world: My father’s name is Starr. Yes, he got into some fights over it as a kid. Yes, he is a happy, productive, responsible, successful, well-like, well-loved member of society. Most of the time, I forget that Starr (okay, usually Star but out loud there is no difference) is “a girl’s name.”
“What is a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet.” An unusual name, but a nice one. Congratulations,
My kid ‘s name comes from Oblivion characters. I liked the names and the characters. At the end of the day the only thing that truly matters is he is happy and healthy. Every child will face adversity for any random perceived abnormality. Teach him to stand up and use his ‘shout’. Congrats and enjoy parenthood.
love the oblivion pun!