Random Name Picker
Paste your list and spin. Nobody comes up twice until everyone has had a turn, the wheel reads from the back of the room, and you can send it to a projector while your class list stays on your own screen.
Random isn't the same as fair
This is the part most name pickers get wrong, and it is worth being precise about. If you draw at random from the full list every time, each pick is independent — which means in a class of 25, somebody will get called three times in a fortnight while somebody else is never called at all. That is genuinely random. It is also the thing students notice and object to, because from the front of the room it looks like favouritism.
What you usually want is a shuffled queue: everyone gets a turn, in an unpredictable order, before anybody repeats. That is what the toggle does. Each name leaves the pool once it comes up, and when the pool empties a new round begins automatically.
Both behaviours are useful, so both are here. Turn the toggle off for a raffle or a genuine coin-flip; leave it on for cold-calling a class.
Built for the back of the room
- Send it to a second screen. The display window goes on the projector; your class list, the settings, and who has already been called stay on your laptop.
- Wheel or plain name, your choice. The wheel is better for suspense and for younger classes; the plain name is faster and readable from further back.
- Full screen shows the wheel and nothing else. No banner across the top, no panel down the side.
- The text resizes itself. Short names fill the screen; longer ones shrink just enough to stay on one line rather than wrapping awkwardly.
- Space or Enter picks. You can run it from anywhere in the room with a presentation clicker.
- Your list is remembered. It is stored in this browser, so tomorrow the class is already there.
Other ways to use it
- Order of presentations. Leave the toggle on and keep picking — you get a full shuffled running order, one name at a time, with the suspense intact.
- Raffles and giveaways. Toggle off, so every entry is drawn independently.
- Standups and retros. Same shuffled-queue logic works for deciding who speaks next.
Questions
What does “everyone before repeats” actually do?
It removes each name from the pool once it comes up, so the whole list gets a turn before anyone repeats. When the last name is drawn, a new round starts on its own and everyone goes back in. Most pickers draw independently every time, which is why the same person can be called three times while someone else is never called at all.
Can the same name come up twice in a row?
Not with the toggle on, except across a round boundary — and even then the tool avoids repeating the person who ended the previous round. Turn the toggle off and every pick becomes independent, so repeats are possible.
Does my class list get uploaded?
No. The list is saved by your browser on your own device, so it's still there tomorrow, and it isn't sent anywhere — there's no server behind this tool to receive it. Clearing the box, or clearing site data for this site, removes it. If you'd rather nothing was kept at all, use a private window.
Is the wheel actually random, or does it land where the animation stops?
The winner is decided before the wheel starts turning, and the spin is calculated to finish on that slice. That ordering matters: it means the fairness rules govern the result and the animation simply illustrates it, rather than the outcome depending on where a spin happens to stop.
Can I turn the wheel off?
Yes. Switch off the spinning wheel and you get the name alone at full size, which is faster and reads from further away. The fairness rules are identical in both modes.
Can I show it on a projector while keeping my list private?
That's what the second screen button does. It opens a display-only window you drag to your projector and full screen there — it shows the wheel and the result on a white background, while your class list, the settings, and who's already had a turn stay on your own screen.
Will it work on a projector or smartboard?
That's what it's built for. Full screen gives you the wheel or the name at the largest size that fits, text shrinks automatically for longer names, and nothing overlays the display.
Is there a keyboard shortcut?
Space or Enter picks the next name, so you can run it from the back of the room with a clicker without going near the mouse. The shortcut is ignored while you're editing the list.
What would make this tool better? A device that's missing, a detail that looks wrong, an option you went looking for and didn't find — all of it is useful. Send a note.
More in Classroom & Event Screens
See the collection- Random Group GeneratorPaste a roster, get balanced groups in a click
- Full-Screen Countdown TimerA big, accurate countdown that won't drift in a background tab
- Raffle & Giveaway Winner PickerDraw one winner or several, with a proper reveal
Also coming to this collection: Full-Screen Countdown Clock, Full-Screen Stopwatch.