🎲 Random Name Picker & Team Generator
Paste names one per line or separated by commas, choose a mode and draw. Giveaway winners, random groups and presentation order in one second.
How to use the random name picker
- Paste names into the list box — one per line, or separated by commas like
Emma, Liam, Olivia. Copying a column from Excel or Google Sheets works too; each cell becomes a line. - Choose a mode:
- Pick winners — set how many to draw; the rest are listed as not picked. Pick 1 for a classic name-from-a-hat draw.
- Make teams — set the number of teams (e.g. 3 teams) or people per team (e.g. 4 each) and get random groups.
- Random order — shuffles the whole list and numbers it from 1.
- Tap Draw. Names flicker for a moment, then the result appears. In the list box you can also press Ctrl/⌘ + Enter.
- Use copy to paste the results into a chat, email or announcement.
How the draw stays fair
All three modes use the same method: shuffle the full list once with a Fisher-Yates shuffle, then either keep the order (random order), take the first N (pick winners) or deal names round-robin into teams (make teams).
- Fisher-Yates shuffle — working from the last position back, swap in a random name from those not yet placed. Every one of the n! possible orders is exactly equally likely, and nobody can be drawn twice.
- Randomness — the browser's cryptographic generator
crypto.getRandomValuesinstead ofMath.random, with rejection sampling to remove modulo bias. - Odds when picking winners — with k winners from n names, everyone's chance is exactly
k ÷ n. Where a name sits in the list makes no difference.
How team sizes are worked out
The shuffled list is dealt to Team 1, Team 2, Team 3… one person at a time, so team sizes never differ by more than one. If you choose "people per team", the number of teams is total ÷ people per team, rounded, and leftovers are spread out — so nobody ends up alone on a team of one.
| People | Setting | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 3 teams | 4 · 3 · 3 |
| 10 | 4 per team | 10 ÷ 4 = 2.5 → 3 teams (4 · 3 · 3) |
| 13 | 4 per team | 13 ÷ 4 = 3.25 → 3 teams (5 · 4 · 4) |
| 22 | 5 per team | 22 ÷ 5 = 4.4 → 4 teams (6 · 6 · 5 · 5) |
| 30 | 6 teams | 6 teams of 5 |
Need exact team sizes with a few people left over? Use Pick winners first to draw the people you need, then split the rest.
Great for
- Giveaway and raffle winners — paste commenters' usernames and pick N. Keep Count each name once on so people who commented several times get one entry (turn it off if multiple entries are allowed).
- Classroom groups and breakout rooms — paste the roster and make teams; copy the result straight into your announcement.
- Presentation or chore order — random order numbers everyone from 1.
- Pickup sports — 2 teams, and an odd number of players is off by only one.
- Secret Santa prep or who pays — pick 1, or try the ladder game for more suspense.
Your list is saved only in this browser (localStorage) for next time and never uploaded. For public prize draws where you need to prove fairness, screen-record the draw or run it live in front of participants.