Random Name Picker
Draw Winners And Teams

What A Random Name Picker Does For You

A draw should feel fair to everybody in the room. But a hat, a spreadsheet or a quick guess rarely is. So a random name picker does the job for you, in the open, with the same chance for each name.

Paste your list and press one button. Then the tool shows the winners in order, with the count of names next to them.

It also builds teams, shuffles a running order and pairs matchups. So one page covers the raffle, the classroom and the five-a-side game.

Everything runs in your browser. So your list of names never leaves your device.

How The Random Name Picker Works

First, the tool reads your box and turns each line into a name. Then it asks your browser for random numbers. Next, it uses those numbers to choose, to shuffle or to deal out teams.

No name gets a head start. Because the draw uses whole random numbers and throws away the leftovers, every entry keeps the same chance.

Draw Winners From Your List

Pick winners is the first mode. So type how many winners you want, then press Pick names.

The result shows each winner with a rank number. Also, the counters above tell you how many names were in the list and how many are left.

Pick One Name Or Many

Set the number of winners to one for a single prize. For a longer list of prizes, ask for ten or more at once.

The order matters too. So the first name shown is your first place, and the rest follow in the order they came out.

Draws With No Repeats

By default a name can win only once. So a list of thirty people gives you thirty different winners at most.

However, some games need the same name again. Then tick Let a name win more than once, and every draw starts from the full list.

Weights For Extra Entries

Raffles often sell more than one ticket per person. So tick Read weights after a star, then write Ana * 5 on the line.

That name now holds five tickets, while a plain name holds one. As a result, the chances match the tickets people really bought.

Take Winners Out Of The List

Prize draws usually run round after round. So tick Take winners out of the list, and each winner leaves the box after the draw.

Then press the button again for the next prize. In short, the list shrinks while you work.

A Random Team Generator With Names

Switch to Build teams and the same list becomes a random team generator. First, the tool shuffles everybody. Then it deals the names out one by one, like cards.

Because the deal goes round and round, the teams differ by at most one player. So nobody ends up on a team of two against a team of six.

Teams By Size Or By Count

Split by the number of teams when the pitch decides it. For example, four teams for four goals.

Instead, split by players per team when the game decides it, such as five a side. Then pick what happens to the spare players: spread them out, or keep a smaller last team.

Name The Teams

Teams can read as Team 1 and Team 2, as Team A and Team B, or as colours such as Red and Blue.

Colours help with bibs in a gym. Also, letters suit a bracket sheet.

Random NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL And IPL Teams

The Load a ready list box holds five pro leagues. So you can draw a random NFL team, an NBA team, an MLB team, an NHL team or an IPL team in one click.

Fans use this for a fantasy draft, a season challenge or a video game run. Then the picker treats the league exactly like any other list of names.

NCAA Football Programs

The college list holds seventy major football programs. It is not every team in the division, so treat it as the well known names rather than a full roll call.

Also, you can edit the box. So add or drop a program, and the draw follows your version.

Matchups And Byes

Matchups pairs the list into games. So thirty-two teams become sixteen games, and eight players become four first-round ties.

With an odd list one name has to sit out. Then the tool says who gets the bye, instead of quietly dropping anybody.

A Random Order For Turns

Random order shuffles the whole list and numbers it. So you get a speaking order, a draft order or a queue for the console.

Press Shuffle the list to mix the box itself. As a result, the next draw starts from the new order.

Repeatable Draws With A Seed

A seed is a short word that fixes the draw. So type summer-raffle in the seed box, and the same list always gives the same winners.

That helps when people cannot watch live. First, share the seed and the list. Then anybody can run the draw again and check your result.

Where The Randomness Comes From

Without a seed, the numbers come from the secure source built into your browser. For details, see the MDN page on crypto.getRandomValues.

That source suits draws and keys alike. So it is a long way from the quick random function that many tools still use.

Why The Shuffle Is Fair

Teams and orders use the classic Fisher-Yates shuffle, which gives every arrangement the same chance.

Many home-made shuffles bend the odds without anybody noticing. Because this one walks the list backwards and swaps as it goes, it stays even.

Keep A Draw Log

Each draw adds a line to the log under the tool. So you can read back the last ten draws during a long session.

The log lives in the page only. Then it goes when you close the tab, and you can clear it sooner with one button.

Tidy Up The List First

Lists arrive in odd shapes. So tell the tool whether names sit one per line, between commas or between spaces.

Also, tick Drop repeated names when a sign-up sheet holds the same person twice. Then the duplicate loses its second chance.

Copy Or Download The Result

Press Copy the result for the clipboard, or Download for a small text file. Teams come out as one line per team, and matchups as one line per game.

So you can paste the result into a chat, a ticket or a scoreboard in seconds.

Random Name Picker Limits

The box takes up to five thousand names, and one draw returns up to a thousand winners. Also, the log keeps the last ten draws.

Those limits keep the page quick on a phone.

Safe By Design

First, the tool works in your browser. It sends nothing, and it stores nothing. So the names of your staff, students or customers stay yours.