Random Group Generator
Split names into random balanced groups or teams — perfect for classrooms and team activities.
Written by Anil Gautam · Updated
How does people per group decide the number of groups?
In People per group mode, the number you type is a maximum. The tool divides the number of names by it and rounds up to get the group count, then deals the names evenly across those groups. Ten names at 4 per group become 3 groups of 4, 3 and 3, so nobody ends up in a pair. Twenty-five names at 6 per group need 5 groups, and dealing 25 names into 5 groups gives five groups of 5, one fewer per group than you asked for. A size larger than the whole list puts everyone in one group.
Number of groups mode uses your figure directly, capped at the number of names, so asking for 8 groups from 5 names gives 5 groups of one. Thirty students split into 4 groups come out as 8, 8, 7 and 7, and the number in brackets after each group name shows its size.
Which groups get the extra people?
Names are shuffled first and then dealt one at a time starting from Group 1. When the total does not divide evenly, the leftover names always land in the lowest-numbered groups. With 30 names in 4 groups, Groups 1 and 2 hold 8 people and Groups 3 and 4 hold 7 on every shuffle; only the names change. If bigger groups need a larger table or a second helper, plan for Groups 1 and 2.
After the first run the button reads Reshuffle. Each click shuffles the original list again from scratch, so two people who were together last time can land together again.
How should I prepare the name list?
Put one name per line. Blank lines are skipped, spaces at either end are trimmed, and the button stays disabled until there are at least two names. A name that appears twice is treated as two people, so a repeated line puts the same person in two places, possibly in one group. If the list was merged from several sources, clean it with Remove Duplicate Lines first.
Copy all produces plain text: each group starts with a line such as Group 1:, each name follows on its own line after a hyphen, and a blank line separates the groups. That format pastes cleanly into a document or chat message. The names stay on the page and are not uploaded. To choose a leader for each finished group, paste that group's names into the Random Name Picker.