How do you pick a random name from a list?
Paste your list of names, choose Race, Rumble or Coin Flip, and press start. The winner is chosen by a seeded random draw, and the animation replays that decision. You get a full ranked order rather than just one name, and a share link that runs the identical draw for everyone who opens it.
Most random name pickers give you a name in a box. That is fine when you are alone. It is useless the moment more than one person cares about the answer, because whoever clicked the button is the only one who saw it happen.
Run or Rumble picks the name the same way — a seeded random draw, made before anything is drawn on screen — and then shows the draw happening. Twelve baby zodiac animals race, brawl or flip for it. Everybody watches the same thing and nobody has to take your word for the result.
How the draw is decided
The winner is chosen by a seeded random draw at the moment you press start. The animation is a replay of a decision that has already been made, not a physics simulation that could be nudged.
That is what makes the share link trustworthy. The seed travels in the link, so the match cannot come out differently on someone else's phone. Refreshing does nothing. Opening it a week later does nothing.
If you want the draw to be deliberately unfair, turn on Weighted odds and hand a favorite more lottery balls. Agree on the weights with your group before running the draw.
What you get that a wheel does not
- A ranked order, not just a winner. Race and Rumble rank every name from first to last in one run, so you can pick a winner and settle the running order at the same time.
- A replayable link. Send it to the group chat and everyone sees the identical draw. No screenshot, no arguing.
- Up to 18 names free, 30 on the paid plan. 18 covers a table, a team or a family; the paid roster takes a full class or an office floor.
- Nothing to install and no account. Paste, press, done.
Getting your list in
Type the names, or paste the list you already have. The box understands one name per line, a comma-separated line, a numbered or bulleted list from a doc, and a column copied straight out of a spreadsheet — it finds the name column and ignores the score and rank columns around it.
Repeated names are kept as separate participants. Add a last name or label when two people share a name.
When something else is the better tool
- You are the only person who cares about the result. A wheel, or a one-line
RANDOM()in a spreadsheet, is faster and nobody needs convincing. - You need thousands of draws. This does one match at a time. Use a script.
- You need names invented rather than chosen. This picks from a list you already have; it does not generate new names.
How it works
Paste your names
One per line, or a column straight out of a spreadsheet.
Pick a game
A race, a battle royale, or a two-sided coin flip.
Share the link
Everyone who opens it watches the identical draw.
Put it on your own site
Teachers put it on a class page, leagues on their league site, streamers on a giveaway page. Paste this code where you want the picker; your visitors use it free, with no sign-up.
Questions
Is the random name picker actually random?
Yes. Each draw is decided by a seeded random draw before any animation runs. The animation replays that decision. Nothing about how the animals move changes who wins.
Is it free?
Yes, and there is no sign-up. Up to 18 names, all three game modes and shareable links are free, using four of the twelve characters in team colors we deal out. The paid plan takes it to 30, lets you choose from all twelve characters, hands you every color, lets you put a real photo on a competitor, and lets you reload saved crews, edit past match lineups and publish links under your own name.
How many names can I add?
Up to 18 in a Race or a Rumble. Coin Flip is a head-to-head between exactly two choices.
Can two people get the same result from one link?
That is the whole point. The result is locked into the link before you share it, so every person who opens it sees the same draw and the same winner.
Can I make one name more likely to win?
Yes. Turn on Weighted odds and give any name more lottery balls. Agree on those weights before running the draw.