Random Name Picker - Fair Winner Draws with a Spinning Reveal and Weights
Paste a list of names, one per line or separated by commas, and pick one winner or several. Every name has an equal chance unless you give it extra tickets by writing it as Name, 3.
Maintained by Hirantha Sandaruwan Lakshan. Updated 15 October 2026.
About this tool
You can take winners out of the list after each draw, keep a history of draws and watch a spinning list reveal the result. The draw uses your browser's secure random number generator, and your names never leave the page.
How it works
Reading your list: if the box has more than one line, each line is one name. If it is a single line, the names are split at commas. Extra spaces are tidied, and names are compared ignoring capital letters, so Kasun and kasun are the same name. Sinhala and Tamil names work too, and the joining characters that some letters need are kept. A name written twice counts as two entries, which is two tickets, unless Remove duplicate names is on. That keeps the first copy of each name.
Weights are tickets. In a list with one name per line, a line that ends with a comma and a whole number, such as Nimali Fernando, 3, gives that name that many tickets, from 1 to 1,000,000. A name with 3 tickets is exactly three times as likely as a name with 1. The tool numbers all the tickets, draws one ticket number below the total with rejection sampling so no number is favoured, and picks the name that owns that ticket. A one-line list cannot hold weights, because commas already separate the names there.
With several winners, they are drawn one after another. After each winner, that entry's tickets are taken out and the next winner is drawn from the entries left, in proportion to tickets, so no entry wins twice in one draw. A name that is listed twice has two entries, so unless Remove duplicate names is on, that person can win twice. With equal tickets this is a simple random sample, where each group of k entries is as likely as any other group of k entries. Turn on Remove winners from the list to take the winning lines out of the box ready for the next draw. Put the winners back undoes it.
The winner is chosen first. The names that flash past while the list spins are only a reveal, and they cannot change who wins. If your device asks for reduced motion, the spin is skipped and the winners appear at once. The list is limited to 5,000 names, and the draw happens entirely in your browser tab.
Worked examples
Pick one winner from the example list
Press Pick with the ten example names. Each name has a 1 in 10 chance, 10%. Press Pick again for another draw; the same person can win again because nobody was removed.
Three winners, then take them out of the list
Set Number of winners to 3 and tick Remove winners from the list. The three winners are drawn one by one, and their lines disappear from the box. The next draw starts from the 7 names left. Put the winners back restores them.
Extra chances for some names
Write Kasun Perera, 3 on one line and Nimali Fernando and Tharindu Silva on lines of their own. There are 5 tickets in all: Kasun has 3 of 5, which is 60%, and the other two have 1 of 5, which is 20% each. Open Chance of being picked first to see these percentages.
A list with a repeated name
If Nimali Fernando appears twice, she holds two entries and has twice the chance of someone listed once. Turn on Remove duplicate names to count each name once, and the note under the box says how many repeats were left out.
How tickets set the chance of being picked first
| Name | Tickets | Chance of being picked first |
|---|---|---|
| Kasun Perera, 3 | 3 | 60.0% |
| Nimali Fernando | 1 | 20.0% |
| Tharindu Silva | 1 | 20.0% |
| All names | 5 | 100.0% |
Frequently asked questions
Is the random name picker fair?
Yes. With no weights, every name has exactly the same chance. The tool draws a number from your browser's secure random number generator and uses rejection sampling, so no name is even slightly favoured by the maths.
Are my names uploaded anywhere?
No. The list stays in your browser tab. Nothing is sent, saved or logged, and closing the tab clears the list and the history.
How do I give someone more chances?
Put each name on its own line and add a comma and a whole number: Nimali Fernando, 3. That name then holds 3 tickets. Names without a number hold 1 ticket. The panel Chance of being picked first lists the exact percentages.
Can the same person win twice?
Not within one draw when every name is listed once: each winner is taken out before the next is drawn. A name listed twice has two entries, so that person can win twice in one draw, unless you turn on Remove duplicate names. Across separate draws anyone can win again, unless you turn on Remove winners from the list, which takes the winning lines out of the box. With Remove duplicate names also on, every copy of a winner's name goes.
What happens if a name is in the list twice?
Each copy is a separate entry, so that person has two chances. This is how a person with two raffle tickets should be treated. Turn on Remove duplicate names if each person should count once. The comparison ignores capital letters and extra spaces.
How do I pick several winners at once?
Set Number of winners to the number you want, up to the number of names, and press Pick. The winners are drawn one after another and listed in the order they were drawn.
Can I use this for a giveaway or prize draw?
It makes a fair pick from your list. It cannot prove to anyone else that the draw was fair, because they cannot see the random values, and it is not an approved or audited draw. If your giveaway has rules from a platform, a school, an employer or the law, follow those rules. Drawing in front of the entrants helps them trust the result.
Why does the spin show other names before the winner?
The winner is chosen before the spin starts. The names that flash past are decoration, drawn only to make the reveal feel like a spin. Turn on reduced motion in your device settings to skip it.
Sources & references
Updated Oct 15, 2026