Random Name Picker
Enter one name per line and draw one or more winners at random.
0 names in the list
Options
Processed on your device — nothing is sent anywhere.
How it works
- Type or paste your list into the box, one name per line. Blank lines are ignored.
- Set how many winners you want to draw, and open Options if you want winners removed from the list after each pick.
- Click Pick — the winner or winners appear instantly, chosen with your browser’s cryptographic random generator.
Frequently asked questions
- How random is the pick?
- The tool uses the Web Crypto API (crypto.getRandomValues) rather than Math.random, with rejection sampling to avoid modulo bias. This is the same source of randomness browsers use for cryptographic keys, so every name has an exactly equal chance of being drawn.
- Can I draw several winners at once without duplicates?
- Yes. Set the number of winners before you pick and the tool draws that many distinct names from the list in one go. A single draw never selects the same line twice, even if you keep winners in the list for later rounds.
- Can I use this for a giveaway or raffle?
- Yes — because every line has an exactly equal chance, the draw is fair for giveaways, raffles and prize picks. For transparency you can screen-record the draw or perform it live on a call. If entrants can appear more than once, decide beforehand whether duplicates are allowed, since each line counts as one entry.
- What happens if the same name appears twice in my list?
- Each line is treated as a separate entry, so a name listed twice has double the chance of winning. That is useful when entries are earned — paste one line per entry — but if everyone should have equal odds, remove duplicate lines before drawing. Blank lines are ignored automatically either way.
- Is my list of names uploaded anywhere?
- No. The whole draw runs locally in your browser with JavaScript — the names never leave your device and nothing is logged or stored. You can close the tab and the list is gone.
About this tool
This random name picker draws one or more winners from any list you give it. Paste or type your entries, one per line — names, ticket numbers, team members, restaurant options — set how many winners you need, and click Pick. The result appears instantly, and an option lets you remove winners from the list after each round so nobody can win twice across successive draws.
Fairness comes from the randomness source. Instead of JavaScript’s ordinary Math.random, the picker calls crypto.getRandomValues from the Web Crypto API, the cryptographically secure generator your browser uses for encryption keys, and applies rejection sampling so every line has an exactly equal probability. The entire draw runs on your device: the list is never uploaded, logged or stored, which matters when it contains student names, customer emails or other personal information.
Typical uses include social media giveaways and raffles, picking students to answer questions in class, assigning chores or presentation order on a team, drawing door-prize winners at events, and settling everyday stalemates like which film to watch. For multi-round formats — a raffle with first, second and third prizes — draw one winner at a time with the remove-winners option enabled so each prize goes to a different person.
A few tips for clean draws. Decide the duplicate policy before you start: one line per person gives equal odds, while one line per earned entry weights the draw deliberately. Skim the pasted list for stray blank-ish lines like a lone dash, since only truly empty lines are ignored. And for public giveaways, run the draw live or screen-record it — the fairness of the algorithm is easiest to trust when people can watch it happen.