Random Name Picker Wheel — Spin, Draw Winners, Shuffle & Make Teams
Spin a wheel of names, draw one or several winners, shuffle a list or split it into teams — fair, cryptographic randomness.
🔒 Runs in your browser — files never uploaded ⚡ No signup 💯 Free
0 entries ·
Draw history this session only
Paste your names, spin the wheel and let it land on a winner. Or skip the animation and pick one, draw several distinct winners, shuffle the whole list into a random order, or split it into teams of even size. Tick "remove the winner" to run a raffle or a classroom rota round after round without repeats; every draw is written to a history list you can refer back to.
Going to share it in a meeting? Full screen turns the wheel and result into a presenter view for screen-sharing in Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Google Meet. The draw itself uses your browser's cryptographic random generator, and your list never leaves the page.
How to use Random Picker
- Enter the names, one per line, or paste a comma-separated row such as "Ann, Bob, Cy". Shuffle, sort and remove-duplicate buttons tidy the list.
- Choose a mode: spin the wheel, pick one, pick several, shuffle all, or make teams.
- Click the button (or the wheel itself). The winner appears below in large type and is added to the draw history.
- Tick "remove the winner" for successive rounds, and use Full screen when presenting.
Is the wheel really random?
Yes, and not because of the animation. When you spin, the winner is chosen first, with a single uniform draw from your browser's cryptographic random generator (the same source used for encryption keys), and the wheel is then steered to stop inside that winner's segment at a random point. Every name has exactly the same chance, regardless of where the wheel starts, how many times it turns, or which segment is largest on screen. "Pick one" makes the identical draw without the spin.
Running a fair draw or raffle
- One entry per line per ticket. A name entered twice has twice the chance; the counter warns you about duplicates, and "Remove duplicates" clears them if that was not intended.
- Remove winners between rounds so nobody wins twice, and keep the window open: the history lists each draw with its time.
- Draw several at once for second and third prizes. "Pick several" returns distinct entries in the order drawn.
- Share your screen or use Full screen so everyone sees the draw happen.
Using it in Microsoft Teams, Zoom or a classroom
There is nothing to install. Open this page, paste the attendee list (you can copy it from the meeting's participant panel), click Full screen and share that window. Teachers use it to pick who answers next, choose presentation order with Shuffle, or form groups with Make teams; ticking "remove the winner" makes sure everyone gets a turn before anyone is picked twice.
Why the shuffle is done properly
The common shortcut array.sort(() => Math.random() - 0.5) looks fine but is biased: sorting algorithms assume a consistent comparator, and with a random one some orderings come up far more often than others. This tool uses the Fisher–Yates shuffle, which makes every ordering equally likely. Teams are formed by shuffling and then dealing round-robin, so team sizes never differ by more than one. For numbers rather than names, use the random number generator; for a quick yes or no, flip a coin or roll dice.
Frequently asked questions
Is the spinning wheel fair?
Yes. The winner is drawn first with cryptographic randomness, giving every entry exactly the same chance, and the wheel animation is then steered to land on that entry. Where the wheel starts or how long it spins has no effect on the result.
How do I use it as a random name picker in Microsoft Teams or Zoom?
Paste the participants' names, click Full screen, and share that browser window in the meeting. Spin as often as you like; tick "remove the winner" so the same person is not picked twice.
Can I draw several winners without repeats?
Yes. Use "Pick several" to draw any number of distinct entries at once, or tick "Remove the winner from the list after each draw" and spin or pick repeatedly. The draw history keeps a record of every result.
How do I paste names from a spreadsheet or a comma-separated list?
Paste a column from Excel or Google Sheets and each cell becomes a line. A single line of names separated by commas, semicolons or tabs is split automatically. Use "Remove duplicates" and "Sort A–Z" to tidy the list.
How many names can the wheel hold?
Up to 200. Names are written on the segments up to 60 entries; beyond that the segments become too thin for text but the draw works the same and the winner is shown below. "Pick one" has no limit.
How are teams balanced?
The list is shuffled and then dealt round-robin, so team sizes differ by at most one, whatever the numbers. Each click makes a fresh random split.
What happens with duplicate names?
Each line is an entry, so a name listed twice has twice the chance. That is a legitimate way to weight a draw (one line per raffle ticket), but the counter flags duplicates in case they were accidental.
Is my list uploaded or saved?
No. The list, the draws and the history stay in your browser tab and disappear when you close it. Nothing is sent to a server.