Random name picker
Draw names with no repeats, from a deck of cards, one big name at a time, or a gumball machine with a crank. Everyone gets a turn before anyone gets a second, and the class list never leaves your computer.
How to use it
- Type or paste your class list into the box, one name per line.
- Press Space or the big button to draw. Drawn names move aside, so nobody is picked twice until the deck runs out.
- Choose how it looks: the deck, one big name with confetti, or the gumball machine, where each name is a gumball with its initials and the drawn one rolls down the chute. Draw one name, or two to four at once for pairs and teams.
Ideas for class
- Cold-call fairly: students stay ready because they know every name will come up once, and nobody feels singled out.
- Choose who shares at the end of a lesson: draw three names and give each a minute to tell the class one thing they learned.
- Call up helpers for the day, one for each job, by drawing several names at once.
- Run a review game where each draw is a turn, and you can see on the screen who has already had theirs.
- Set the order for oral reports or read-aloud turns, then keep the list of who is left for tomorrow's session.
- Use “One at a time” on a projector so the next name fills the screen and is easy to read from the back.
- Put the gumball machine on the board for the last five minutes: children spot their initials in the globe and watch the pile shrink as everyone gets a turn.
- Tick Read the name aloud for a class of early readers, so the picked child hears their name as well as seeing it.
Related
Questions
What is the difference between this and the wheel?
The wheel is for fun and for choices where repeats are fine. The picker is a deck of cards: each draw removes a name until everyone has been drawn. If you want a wheel that removes winners too, the wheel has a switch for that.
Is it really random?
Yes. Each draw takes a card from the ones left using your browser's secure random generator, so every remaining name is equally likely. We test that over tens of thousands of draws.
Where is my class list stored?
Only in this browser, on this computer. Nothing is sent to us or anyone else, and there is no account. A link you copy keeps the list after the # sign, which browsers never send to a server, so only people you give the link to can read it.
What happens if I change the list in the middle?
The deck is shuffled again and nobody counts as drawn. Make your edits before you start. If a student arrives late, add them and reset.
What are the ways of showing the pick?
Everyone once shows the deck of face-down cards with the pick highlighted. One at a time shows the name in huge type with a burst of confetti, best for a projector. Gumball machine puts every name left in a glass globe; turn the crank and the drawn name rolls out and pops up big. All three never repeat a name until the deck is empty.
Can I turn the sound off?
Yes. Press M, or the Sound button. The shuffle, the crank and the little fanfare are made by your browser on the spot, with no audio files, and nothing plays until you first tap or press a key.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. Names, lists and settings stay in this browser. No sign-in, no ads.