Random Name Picker: Spin a Wheel of Names, Free

Paste your names, spin the wheel and get one name at random. This random name picker is free, with no sign-up, and holds up to 100 names. Everyone gets a slice of the same size. Switch on Remove the winner to go through the whole list with no repeats. Your list stays in your browser.

How to pick a random name

1. Paste or type your names in the box, one per line. The wheel holds up to 100.
2. Press Spin the wheel, or tap the middle of the wheel. It stops on one name.
3. Read the name under the wheel. Every draw also goes into the history list, newest first.
4. To go through everyone once, switch on Remove the winner, and each name leaves the wheel after it comes up.

Picking names with no repeats

With Remove the winner on, a name leaves the wheel once it has come up, so nobody is picked twice. Keep spinning and the history list becomes a random order for the whole group: who presents first, who goes next, or which pairs work together.

Is the name picker fair?

Yes. The name is drawn before the wheel moves, by your browser's built-in cryptographic random generator (crypto.getRandomValues), and each name is exactly as likely as the next. The wheel then stops inside that name's slice, never on a line, so there is no arguing about who it landed on. A name written twice has two slices and comes up twice as often, so check your list for duplicates first.

Using it in a classroom

Press Full screen to put the wheel on a projector or a board, with the Spin button under it. Paste the class list once: it stays in this browser for next time. You can also copy the wheel link or send it in Telegram to give a colleague the same list, but anyone with the link can read the names.

Need something other than names?

The yes or no wheel answers a single question, and the spin the wheel page has a number picker for choosing from 1 to 100.

Frequently asked questions