Random Name Picker
Pick random names from a list — perfect for raffles, classroom selection, and giveaways.
Written by Anil Gautam · Updated
How does the random name picker choose winners?
Each non-empty line is one entry, with spaces trimmed from both ends, and the label above the box shows how many entries it found. When you click Pick, the card flashes random names for about 1.7 seconds, 21 frames at 80 milliseconds each. The flashing names have no effect on the outcome: the draw takes place once the animation ends, and the winners are listed in the order they were drawn, so you can hand out first, second and third prizes in that order.
With Allow duplicates off, each winner is removed before the next draw, so nobody wins twice and How many is capped at the number of entries. Turn it on and every draw uses the full list, with up to 100 winners. Picking 3 from 10 names without duplicates gives each person a 3 in 10 chance, 30%, of being among the winners. When duplicates are allowed, a given person misses all three draws with probability 0.9 × 0.9 × 0.9 = 0.729, so the chance of appearing at least once falls to 27.1%, and one person can take two places.
Setting How many to the full list size with duplicates off returns everyone in a random order, which is a quick way to assign presentation slots.
What if a name appears twice in my list?
The picker treats every line as a separate entry, even when two lines hold the same name. A name typed twice therefore has two chances, and with duplicates off it can still come up twice, once for each line. In a list of 10 lines where Priya appears twice, a single pick chooses her 2 times in 10 while everyone else has 1 in 10.
That behaviour suits weighted draws: give each person one line per ticket bought. When everyone should have exactly one chance, run the list through Remove Duplicate Lines first. Blank rows and stray spaces from a spreadsheet or sign-up form are ignored, so you can paste such lists as they are.
Which tool fits a live draw, teams or numbered tickets?
For a draw people watch on screen, the Wheel Spinner shows the choice as a spinning wheel. To split a whole class into teams, use the Random Group Generator, and for numbered raffle tickets the Random Number Generator can draw unique numbers from a range. If a winner cannot claim a prize, delete that line and pick again so the replacement comes only from people still eligible. The name list stays in your browser and is not uploaded.