Random name picker
Paste names, one per line or separated by commas. Then draw winners, make teams or shuffle the order.
Runs in your browser. What you type is not sent to a server.
How the draw works
The list is shuffled with the Fisher–Yates method using your browser's cryptographic random generator, so every order is equally likely. Winners are the first names of that shuffle, which means nobody can be picked twice in one draw.
Teams are dealt from the shuffled list like cards, one name per team in turn, so team sizes never differ by more than one person.
Ways people use it
- Giveaways: paste the commenters or entrants, draw one or more winners, and tick "Remove winners" before drawing the next prize so nobody wins twice.
- Classrooms: choose who answers next, split a class into project groups, or set a presentation order for the week.
- Teams for games and sports: enter the players and the number of teams; sizes never differ by more than one.
- Work: pick a meeting facilitator, set a rotation for on-call or chores, or decide who reviews which task.
- Secret Santa and gift swaps: use Random order to set who gives to whom, each person giving to the next name on the list and the last to the first.
Making a draw people trust
For a public giveaway, write the rules down before you draw: who can enter, how many winners, and whether one person can win twice. Share your screen or record it while you press Draw, and keep the entrant list you used. Ticking "Ignore duplicate names" stops someone who entered twice from getting double the chance, unless your rules allow multiple entries.
Each name has exactly the same chance, and the order you paste them in makes no difference. The shuffle uses your browser's cryptographic random generator, which can't be predicted from earlier results.
Pasting a list
One name per line works best, and you can paste straight from a spreadsheet column. If there are no line breaks, names are split at commas instead. Blank lines and spaces around names are ignored, and the counter above the box shows how many names were read.
Examples
What the picker does with a few typical lists. Team sizes and counts come from the tool itself; who lands where changes on every press.
| You paste | You choose | You get |
|---|---|---|
| 23 players | Teams, 4 | Teams of 6, 6, 6 and 5 |
| 23 players | Teams, 6 | Five teams of 4 and one of 3 |
| 10 students | Teams, 3 | Groups of 4, 3 and 3 |
| Ana, Ben, ana, Chloe, Ben | Ignore duplicate names on | 3 names: Ana, Ben, Chloe |
| The same five lines | Ignore duplicate names off | 5 entries, so Ben has two chances in five |
| 50 entrants | Pick winners, 3 | 3 different winners; each entrant has a 3 in 50 (6%) chance |
Duplicates are matched without caring about capitals, so "Ana" and "ana" count as the same person. With 23 players and 4 teams, 23 ÷ 4 is 5 with 3 left over, so three teams get a sixth player. After a result, the first button changes with what you did: Draw again, Make new teams or Shuffle again, so you can redo it in one tap. Teams start at 2, since one team would just be the whole list.
Questions
Can I run several rounds?
Yes. Tick "Remove winners from the list after each draw" and press Draw again for the next prize. The names left are shown in the box.
How many names can I use?
Hundreds or thousands are fine. Everything runs in your browser, so very long lists only take a moment longer to shuffle.
Is my list uploaded?
No. The names never leave your device. Once you type or paste a list, it is kept in this browser so it is still there next time, and a line under the box says so. Press Clear on that line to remove it, for example on a shared classroom computer.