Random Name Picker & Team Maker
Spin a wheel to pick winners, split names into teams, toss a coin or roll dice
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type or upload is sent to us or stored.
Results are for general guidance. Please check anything important before relying on it. Terms of use
How to Use
- Paste your names or items into Names or items, one per line (or comma-separated on a single line). Keep Ignore repeated entries on so nobody gets two chances.
- On Pick names, set the Number of winners. For one winner from up to 60 names, click Spin the wheel; for more winners (or longer lists) click Pick 3 winners or Pick a winner.
- Turn on Set winners aside if each person should win only once across several rounds, such as first, second and third prize.
- Open Make teams, choose the number of teams and click Make teams to split the same list into evenly sized random groups.
- Use Coin toss and Dice for quick decisions and games. Every result is listed under History until you leave the page.
A fair way to pick names, make teams and settle decisions
Whether it is a classroom deciding who presents first, an office lucky draw at the Diwali party, a society picking a parking-slot order or friends choosing who pays for chai, a random pick feels fair only if everyone is sure it really is random. This picker spins a wheel or draws winners from your list, splits people into balanced teams, tosses coins and rolls dice. It all runs inside your browser, with no sign-up and nothing uploaded.
How the randomness works
Each pick uses crypto.getRandomValues, the browser's cryptographically secure random number generator (the same source browsers use for security keys), instead of the ordinary Math.random. To choose one of n names fairly, the tool draws a random 32-bit number and rejects the few values that would make some names slightly more likely (this is called rejection sampling):
draw x until x < limit, then pick name number x mod n
So every name has exactly the same chance, 1 in n. For several winners the tool shuffles positions with the Fisher–Yates method and takes the first few, so the same person can never win twice in one draw. The winner is chosen the moment you click; the spinning wheel then animates to that name. If your phone or computer is set to reduce motion, the wheel stops on the winner straight away.
Making even teams
The team maker shuffles the whole list and then deals names out one by one, like cards, to Team 1, Team 2, Team 3 and so on. Team sizes therefore never differ by more than one.
| People | Teams | Team sizes |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 2 | 11 and 11 (a cricket match) |
| 11 | 3 | 4, 4 and 3 |
| 40 | 6 | 7, 7, 7, 7, 6 and 6 |
| 30 | 5 | 6 each (group projects) |
Coins and dice
A coin has a 1 in 2 chance of heads; tossing three coins gives all heads only 1 time in 8. With two ordinary dice, a total of 7 is the most likely (6 of the 36 combinations, about 16.7%), while 2 and 12 are the rarest (1 in 36 each). The dice tab also offers 4, 8, 10, 12 and 20-sided dice for board and role-playing games. The running count of heads and tails lets you see that results even out only over many tosses. Ten heads in a row is unusual but entirely possible.
Tips for a transparent draw
- Show the list on a projector or share your screen before spinning, so everyone can see their name is included.
- Decide the rules first: how many winners, and whether winners are set aside for later rounds.
- Use Copy to paste the winners straight into a WhatsApp group, and keep the History list visible as a record.
- For draws with legal or financial consequences, such as housing allotments, follow the official procedure that applies; this tool is meant for everyday, informal picks.