Random name picker – spin the wheel of names

How do I paste a list of names from a spreadsheet?

Select the column of names in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers and copy it. On the wheel, press Edit as text, clear the box and paste. Each cell lands on its own line and each line becomes a slice, so a column of 30 names turns into a 30-slice wheel in one step.

Copy only the names, not the header, or "Name" will turn up on the wheel as a contestant. Blank lines are skipped. Each entry can be up to 60 characters, which leaves room for a surname or a department in brackets, and the wheel takes up to 200 names in total.

Before you spin, press Sort A–Z once. It puts identical entries side by side, so a name that was pasted twice (and would get two slices) is easy to spot and delete.

Why is "remove the winner" switched off on this wheel?

This page starts with repeats allowed, because plenty of everyday picks need them: who buys the coffee each morning, which colleague reviews the next document, or which volunteer helps with each task in a long meeting. With the setting off, every name keeps its slice and has the same chance on every spin, even someone picked a minute ago.

When each person should come up only once, open Settings and tick Remove the winner after each spin. The winner then drops off when you close the result, and the wheel shrinks spin by spin. If you only now and then want to take someone out, leave the setting off and use the Remove it and spin again button in the pop-up instead.

How do I draw names without repeats and start again later?

Turn on winner removal and keep spinning. The Results list numbers each draw, so by the end you also have a random running order. The last name is never removed, because a wheel needs at least one slice; spin it once more if you want it recorded in the list.

Here is the step people forget: before the first spin, press Share or embed and copy the link. The link holds your complete list, so opening it later brings every name back for the next round. Reset to default only restores the eight sample names on this page.

Can I share the name wheel with other people?

Yes. The share link carries your names, colours and settings inside the address itself, so nothing is stored on our server and anyone who opens it sees the same wheel. Each person spins their own copy, though, and results are not synced between devices. For a pick that a remote team should trust, one person spins while sharing their screen on the call.

You can also place the wheel on an intranet page, blog or class site; embedding a wheel on your website explains the code. How the winning slice is chosen is covered in our look at whether a spin wheel is really random.

Ways to use a name picker at work and at home

• Stand-ups and retros: pick who speaks first, who takes notes or who chooses the next discussion topic.
• Office rotas: choose the host for the next team lunch or the person who writes this week's update.
• Family decisions: who picks the film, who sits in the front seat, who chooses the bedtime story.
• Clubs and societies: draw a member to lead the next session or pick a book club host.

Teachers will find a version set up for lessons in the random name picker for teachers. To deal a whole group into sides, use the team picker wheel, and for deciding the order of play there is a who goes first wheel.