Random name picker Random order
Who goes first, settled in one click
Deciding who presents first is awkward. Nobody volunteers, the same people always end up last, and drawing slips from a hat takes a while with twenty names. This page shuffles the whole list at once: one press, and every name gets a place from 1 to the end. The order comes from the secure random generator in your browser, so each possible order is equally likely.
It works as a list randomizer for anything, not only people. Paste songs for a playlist, chores for the week, teams for a tournament bracket or the managers in a fantasy football league who need a draft order. Each line is one item, and you can paste a whole column from a spreadsheet.
Not happy to settle it once? Press the button again and you get a completely new order. Every order you draw is kept under Results with the time, so if someone asks what came out the first time, you can show them.
Advertisement
Making a random order
- Open Names and replace the sample names with your list, one per line.
- Press Shuffle the order. The cards show everyone numbered 1, 2, 3 in the order they were drawn.
- Put it on the board with Present, or open Results and press Copy to paste the order into a chat or a document.
Advertisement
Questions about the random order
Is every order equally likely?
Yes, as long as every line is a plain name. The tool picks the first place from everyone, the second from the rest, and so on, with your browser's cryptographic random generator. Nobody is more likely to come first because of their place in the list.
Can I make someone more likely to go first?
Yes, write a weight after the name, like Ella *3. Ella then has three times the chance at every step, so she tends to land near the top, but it is still not certain. Remove the weight to make it fair again.
How do I draw one name at a time instead?
Use the plain name picker, set the number to 1 and draw again for each place. Drawn names are set aside, so the result is also a random order, revealed one person at a time.
Is my list saved?
Yes, in this browser only, and separately from the plain name picker. Under Settings you can keep several lists, for example one per class. The names are never sent to a server.
Advertisement
Other ready-made setups
More random tools
- Spin the wheelType a list, spin, get one winner.
- Team generatorSplit a list into fair random teams.
- Secret Santa generatorGift draw by private links, no email needed.
- Yes or no wheelA quick yes, no or maybe.
- Random letter generatorA starting letter for Scattergories.
- Random country generatorA country from any continent, with flag and capital.
- Random word generatorNouns, verbs or adjectives, easy or harder, for drawing too.
- Random Bible verseA well-known verse at random, or the verse of the day.
- Random name generatorReal first names and surnames by country, girl or boy.
- Random city generatorA town or city from 12 countries, Europe or the world.
- Random date generatorA date, month, day of the week or time of day.
- Random color generatorA random color with its HEX, RGB and HSL code.
- Random number pickerDraw one or many numbers from any range, no repeats.
- Bingo caller75 or 90 balls, read aloud, with a board for the projector.
- Printable bingo cards75, 90 or word cards, all different, with IDs.
- Raffle ticket generatorNumbered tickets with a stub, ready to print.
- Random seating chartRows of desks, shuffled seats, pairs kept apart.