Ken Jennings Shares a Hilarious Throwback Story About His Son’s Unique Nickname for Him

Ken Jennings is usually private about his family life, but he recently let fans in on a charming and unexpected detail from his time as a Jeopardy! contestant in 2004.

During an appearance on Good Morning America on January 21 to promote Celebrity Jeopardy! season 3, Ken was invited to play a special version of the game live on TV. As he tackled a clue from the “Name Dropping” category, co-host Lara Spencer posed a question that led to a heartwarming revelation about his son Dylan.

“This is what your oldest son called you instead of ‘Dad’ the summer you were on Jeopardy!,” she prompted.

With a laugh, Ken shared that, at just one year old, Dylan had ditched the usual “Dad” and instead referred to him by his full name—“Ken Jennings”—all summer long. The reason? He had picked it up from hearing announcer Johnny Gilbert say it at the start of every episode.

“He was only a year old, and he called me ‘Ken Jennings’ all summer,” Ken recounted in a TikTok clip of the moment. “Like, that’s what the announcer said.”

Fans couldn’t get enough of the adorable story, flooding the comments with reactions.

“That’s the cutest story. ” one person wrote.

“That’s hilarious ,” another added.

“,” a different follower chimed in.

Longtime Jeopardy! viewers will remember Ken’s legendary 75-game winning streak in 2004, during which he took home an impressive $2,584,100. His success on the show eventually led him to a career in television, from publishing books and appearing on The Chase to taking over as the host of Jeopardy! following the passing of Alex Trebek.

And after hearing this sweet story, we can’t help but wonder—will Dylan ever join his dad on TV for a special Jeopardy! moment? We’d love to see it happen!