Random Name Picker
Paste your names, one per line, then pick several at once with no repeats, or split everyone into fair teams or groups. Every name has the same chance.
No names yet
Pick names
Picks this visit, newest first
Make groups
Groups use every name in the list, including any taken out of the draw.
Picked with your browser’s secure random number generator. Nothing is saved; closing the page clears it.
Fair picks and fair groups from your own list
Choosing who presents first, drawing a winner at a party, settling who does the dishes or splitting a class into teams all go better when nobody can say the choice was rigged. Paste the names, press a button, and your browser’s secure random number generator decides, with every name on the list given exactly the same chance.
How to use it
- Paste or type the names, one per line. Press Fill in example names to try it first.
- Choose how many names to pick, and whether picked names leave the draw.
- Press Pick. The names appear in the order they were drawn, and each pick goes into the history.
- To split everyone up, choose a number of groups or a group size and press Make groups.
What the options do
- How many to pick: one pick never takes the same line twice, so three picks give three different entries.
- Take picked names out of the draw: for taking turns. Each name picked stays out until you press Put everyone back.
- Number of groups: everyone is shared out as evenly as possible; sizes differ by one at most.
- Group size: as many groups as needed so none is bigger than that. Ten names in groups of 4 gives groups of 4, 3 and 3.
How it stays fair
Every choice comes from crypto.getRandomValues, the secure random number generator built into your browser. Random numbers are matched to names so that none is favored: any number that would tip the balance is thrown away and drawn again. Groups come from shuffling the whole list so that every order is equally likely, then cutting it into groups. The order you type the names in makes no difference.
Good to know
- Up to 2,000 names. Blank lines are skipped, and spaces at either end of a line are ignored.
- Repeated names are pointed out: each line is one entry, so a name on two lines has two chances. Remove Duplicate Lines tidies a list first.
- Nothing is saved or sent. The history lasts until you close or reload the page.
- One pick, with a wheel to watch? The Spinner Wheel spins for a single result. This page is for picking several names at once and making teams.
- In a classroom? The Quiz Creator makes a quick quiz for the groups to take.