How to Use the Name Chooser
- Paste your list of entrants into the textarea, one name per line.
- Set how many winners to pick and decide whether to remove them from the pool afterwards.
- Click 🎉 Pick a Winner! — the spin animation cycles through names before locking on the result.
- Use Reset Pool to restore the original list, or Shuffle List to randomise the entrant order before drawing.
Behind the spin animation the picker does something deliberately simple: it splits the textarea on newlines, drops empty lines, runs a Fisher-Yates shuffle on a copy of the array, and takes the first N entries as winners. Because the shuffle happens on the original list every draw, the probability of any single entrant being picked is identical regardless of where they sit in the textarea. When 'Remove winners from pool' is on, the chosen names are deleted from the textarea so subsequent draws can only pull from the survivors — useful for multi-prize raffles where one ticket can only win once.
How the Name Chooser Works
The tool is well-suited to social-media giveaways, classroom group selection, secret-santa pairing, sports draft picks, and office charity raffles. It is not intended for legally regulated draws (lotteries, gambling) which usually require an auditable RNG with a published seed. The Shuffle List button writes a freshly shuffled copy back into the textarea so participants can see the order before the draw, which is often enough proof for an informal prize draw.
- Multi-winner draws with no repeats, via Fisher-Yates on a fresh copy of the pool
- Optional spin animation gives visible 'draw is happening' feedback for an audience
- Reset Pool restores the original entrant list captured when the page first loaded
- Everything stays on-page — no upload, no analytics, no server round-trip
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Math.random() fair enough for a real prize draw?
For social-media giveaways and classroom use, yes — every entrant gets the same probability per draw. For high-value or legally regulated prizes, regulators usually require a verifiable RNG with a published seed; in that case run the draw on camera using the Shuffle button as on-screen proof.
Can I pick more than one winner without anyone repeating?
Yes. Set Winners to pick higher than 1 and the tool selects that many distinct names in a single draw using a Fisher-Yates shuffle on a copy of the pool, so duplicates can't appear.
What does 'Remove winners from pool' actually do?
When checked, every drawn name is deleted from the textarea after the spin so the next draw can only pick from the remaining entrants. Uncheck it for 'with replacement' draws where the same person can win again.
Does the list of names get sent anywhere?
No. The names live only in the textarea and in JavaScript variables on this page. There is no server, no analytics, and a refresh wipes everything — take a screenshot if you need a record of the result.
Explore the full suite of RANDOM tools and 290+ other free utilities at Chunky Munster.
