Wheel of Names — pick one name out of a list without anyone feeling cheated

A wheel of names exists for one reason: someone has to be chosen, and nobody wants the choosing to look personal. Paste the names into the box above, hit Spin, and the pointer settles on a single name while the whole room watches it happen. That last part is the actual product. A shuffled spreadsheet gives you the same maths, but it doesn't give you the two seconds of everyone leaning in — and it's those two seconds that stop the "why me again?" conversation before it starts.

The moments this gets used for

Most spins on Spinwheely are unglamorous. A Year 8 teacher who knows she calls on the same four hands and wants to stop. A Discord mod drawing a winner from 340 entries at 11pm. A standup lead deciding who demos first. A family arguing about who takes the bins out this week. Six friends who need one person to book the restaurant. None of these are hard problems — they're just problems where the person deciding pays a small social cost, and a name wheel takes that cost off them.

How to run a draw properly

1. Paste your names one per line — the wheel turns each line into a segment.
2. Scan the list once before spinning. A stray blank line or a duplicate is the only thing that can skew a draw.
3. Spin. Tap the wheel or press the button; either works on a projector or a phone.
4. Read the winner off the result card, not the wheel edge, if the list is long.
5. Remove that name and spin again if you need a second, third or sixth winner.

The remove-after-spin step is the difference between "pick a name" and "pick five names, no repeats". Skip it and the same person can genuinely win twice — which is fair, but rarely what you meant. The wheel holds up to 1000 names, so a full class list or a giveaway export fits without trimming.

What "random" means here

Every spin draws from the browser's cryptographic random source, and each segment gets an equal slice of the circle. There's no memory between spins, no weighting, no house pick. If a name comes up twice in a row, that's not a bug — genuinely random draws clump, and a picker that politely avoided repeats would be the rigged one. The only way to weight the wheel is to add a name more than once, which is occasionally useful (extra raffle tickets) and worth knowing about so you don't do it by accident.

In a classroom

Cold-calling works better when the class can see the decision get made. Paste the register once, leave the tab open on the board, and spin whenever you need a reader, a volunteer or a group split. Two small habits help: spin before you ask the question, so the whole class keeps thinking during the spin instead of switching off, and keep a "not today" name off the list rather than skipping it publicly. Names never leave the browser, which matters when the list is real children. If you want a version framed around registers and seating, there's a dedicated random student generator.

For giveaways and raffles

Audiences don't distrust your maths — they distrust anything they didn't see. Paste the entries, share your screen or record the spin, and the draw defends itself. Dedupe first if one person entered five times and shouldn't get five slices. For tiered prizes (first, second, third), spin, remove, spin again, and say the order out loud as you go. Running larger ticketed draws is smoother on the raffle wheel, and prize-per-segment events fit the prize wheel.

When a different wheel is the better tool

A wheel of names is for people and short labels. If the answer is a straight yes or no, the yes or no wheel is one click shorter. If you need a number in a range, use the random number generator wheel. If you're splitting a group rather than picking one person, the random team generator does the pairing for you. And for an unlabelled list of anything at all, the plain spin the wheel tool covers it.

Small things that make a draw go smoothly

• Use first names plus an initial when two people share a name — the wheel can't tell them apart, and neither can the room.
• Trim long names to a word or two so the label stays readable at a distance.
• On a projector, zoom the browser to 125% before class rather than mid-spin.
• Save the list once and it's still there tomorrow — it lives in your browser, not an account.
• Announce the rule ("I'll remove each winner") before the first spin, not after someone loses.

Built by Spinwheely

Spinwheely builds free spinning wheels for decisions people have to make in front of other people. No signup, no spin cap, nothing to install, and your lists stay on your device. The wheel of names is the one most people arrive for — food, movies, coin flips and a few dozen others are here for when the argument is about something else.

Wheel of Names FAQs

What is the Wheel of Names?

The Wheel of Names is a free online random name picker. You paste or type a list of names, spin the wheel, and it lands on one name at random. It is used for classroom cold-calling, giveaway winners, team assignments, secret santa draws, and any moment when a group needs a fair, visible pick that no one can argue with.

Is the Wheel of Names really random?

Yes. Every spin uses a strong randomization function, so each name on the wheel has an equal chance of being picked. There is no hidden ordering, no pre-selected winner, and no memory between spins — spinning the same list twice can give two different names.

How do I use the Wheel of Names?

Type or paste your names into the input, one per line. Click Spin (or press Space) and watch the wheel land on a name. To draw multiple unique winners, remove the winning name after each spin and spin again with the remaining list.

How many names can I add to the Wheel of Names?

You can add up to 1000 names. Short lists of 5–20 read most clearly on the wheel itself; for very large lists (a full class, a giveaway with hundreds of entries) paste them in all at once instead of typing one by one.

Is the Wheel of Names free? Do I need to sign up?

Yes it is free, and no signup is required. Open the page, add your names, and spin. There is no account, no paywall, and no limit on how many times you can spin.

Can I use the Wheel of Names for classroom cold-calling?

Yes. Teachers use it to pick students to answer, to form random groups, to choose who presents next, and to rotate classroom jobs. Because the wheel is visible on screen, students accept the result as fair rather than as the teacher picking favorites.

Can I use it to pick a giveaway or raffle winner?

Yes. Paste all valid entries as one name per line, spin the wheel once, and announce the name it lands on as the winner. For multi-winner draws, remove that name and spin again — this guarantees each winner is unique.

Can I remove a name after it wins so it can't be picked again?

Yes. Once a name is drawn, you can remove it from the list in one tap and spin again with the remaining names. This is what makes the Wheel of Names practical for multi-round draws, classroom rotations, and secret santa assignments.

Does the Wheel of Names work on mobile and tablet?

Yes. The wheel is designed to work on phones, tablets, and desktops. You can paste a list, spin with a tap, and read the winner clearly on small screens — useful for in-person decisions in a classroom, at a party, or on the go.

Are my names saved or shared with anyone?

Your list stays in your own browser. It is not uploaded to any account, not shared with other users, and not visible on the public site. Clearing your browser data removes it.