Random Name Picker
Paste your list, hit the button, get a name. No repeats unless you want them.
Ready when you are
What people use it for
The two biggest uses are classrooms and giveaways, and they pull in opposite directions. Teachers want to get through every name once: cold-calling fairly, assigning presentation order, picking who answers next. Giveaways want the opposite: one draw from the full pool, with everyone equally in it.
That is why the no-repeat option exists and why it is on by default. With it on, each name drops out once drawn, so you work through the list cleanly. Turn it off and every draw goes back to the full list, which is what you want for a prize.
For giveaways specifically, draw in front of people. A visible draw with a short shuffle before the reveal gets accepted; a name that simply appears does not carry the same weight, even when the maths behind it is identical.
Cold-calling without the dread
The order matters more than the tool. Ask the question first, give the room a few seconds, and only then draw the name. Done that way round, everybody has to think of an answer, because anybody could be next. Draw first and twenty-nine people relax the moment they hear someone else's name.
Leave the picker on the board where the class can see it. A name drawn in public is plainly not the teacher choosing, which takes the sting out for the student who gets it, and the Already drawn list shows the room that everybody gets a turn before anybody gets a second one. It also doubles as a presentation order, in the order the names came out.
The house rule worth adopting is a pass. A student who is drawn can say “come back to me” once, and you return to them after the next name. It costs nothing, it keeps a frozen student from being stuck in front of everyone, and almost nobody uses it twice.
For a giveaway, check the list for duplicates before you draw. A name pasted in twice is in the pool twice and has double the chance, which is usually an accident from merging two sign-up lists. If the result has to stand up to the people who did not win, use the raffle, which can lock the entry list before anyone draws.
Common questions
- Is the name picker actually random?
- Yes. Each draw uses your browser's cryptographic random number generator, so every remaining name has an equal chance and no name is favoured.
- Can I stop the same name being picked twice?
- That is on by default. Each name is removed from the pool once drawn, so you can work through a whole class or team without repeats. Turn it off if you want every draw to use the full list.
- How many names can I add?
- There is no practical limit. Paste in a list of several hundred and it will handle it. Very long lists are better shared as plain text than as a link.
- Can I save my list for next time?
- Hit Share link. The whole list is packed into the URL, so bookmarking it brings your list back exactly as you left it. No account needed.
- Is it free for classroom use?
- Yes, completely. There is no signup, and it works on a projector, an interactive whiteboard, or a phone.
- Does the share link remember who has already been picked?
- No, only the list. Who has been drawn lives in the open page, so reloading or reopening the link starts again from everybody. To work through a class across a lesson, leave the tab open.
- Can I draw several names at once?
- It draws one at a time, so each name gets its own reveal and the Already drawn list keeps them in order. For several prize winners in a single draw, the raffle is built for that and can seal the entry list first.
- Should I use this or the spin wheel?
- Same odds, different screen. The wheel is better for a handful of options and a room that wants to watch. The picker is better for a long list, because thirty names do not fit legibly on a wheel and this shows every one in full.