Do you remember the NBC game show Card Sharks?
The original version — which involved a pair of contestants guessing survey results (à la Family Feud), and then playing the card game High Low for prize money — ran from 1978 to 1981. During that period, at least two uniquely named contestants influenced U.S. baby names.
Dilanjan
A contestant named Dilanjan (pronounced dee-lahn-jahn) was on the show for five episodes in January of 1979. That year, the baby name Dilanjan debuted in the SSA’s baby name data with 13 baby boys. It was never on the list again, though, making it a one-hit wonder.
- 1981: unlisted
- 1980: unlisted
- 1979: 13 baby boys named Dilanjan [debut]
- 1978: unlisted
- 1977: unlisted
On the January 8th [vid] episode, Dilanjan mentioned that he was originally from Colombo, Sri Lanka. I’ve found several other Sri Lankan men named Dilanjan (and Dilanjana) via the Internet, but so far I haven’t been able to figure out the name’s etymology.
Risha
A contestant named Risha (pronounced REE-sha) was on the show for six episodes in July of 1979. The baby name Risha had already been appearing in the U.S. baby name data for several decades by then, but in 1979 the usage of the name more than tripled:
- 1981: 17 baby girls named Risha
- 1980: 24 baby girls named Risha
- 1979: 56 baby girls named Risha (peak usage)
- 1978: 17 baby girls named Risha
- 1977: 17 baby girls named Risha
Update, Apr. 2024: I recently discovered that Risha also made several mid-1987 appearances on a later iteration of Card Sharks (1986-1989). Her second stint likely caused this 1987 uptick in the usage of Risha:
- 1988: 7 baby girls named Risha
- 1987: 16 baby girls named Risha
- 1986: 6 baby girls named Risha
On the June 5th [vid] episode, she mentioned that Risha was her real name. She also explained that it was Persian, and had belonged to “a princess in the court of Nebuchadnezzar.”
I have a feeling that repeat contestants on other long-gone game shows have also affected the charts…but it’s hard to do research on this sort of thing, as there isn’t some master-list of game show contestant names I can refer to. (I wish!)
For all the game show junkies out there: What memorable contestant names have you spotted over the years?
Sources: Card Sharks – Wikipedia, SSA
Images: Screenshots of Card Sharks
[Latest update: Apr. 2024]
Recently on Jeopardy there was a woman named Pidge…other unusual names this season have been Georjean, Wren, Hobie, Sala, and Dorcas. The “J! Archive” looks like it has all the contestants listed going back 20 years, and some before that: http://j-archive.com/listseasons.php
Thank you for that list! Makes me wish I’d been tuning in this season.
And thank you also for the link — I’m putting together a post for next week all about unusual Jeopardy contestant names!