What is a wheel of names?

A wheel of names is a random name picker: you type or paste in a list of people, and the wheel spins to land on one of them, chosen with true random odds rather than anyone's judgment call. It's the digital version of pulling a name from a hat, except everyone in the room can watch the spin happen and see exactly which name it landed on — nobody can quietly swap the result. That visible fairness is why it's become a standard classroom and raffle tool instead of a private dice roll.

How to use the wheel of names

Open List mode and add one name per row, or switch to Text mode and paste a whole roster at once — one name per line, or import a CSV export directly. Each name becomes an equal-sized slice by default. Hit Spin (or press Space), and the wheel does the rest: the winner is picked the instant you spin, then the animation plays out to land on that result. Your list saves automatically to this browser, so it's still there next time you open the page.

What people use it for

Teachers use it to call on students fairly and to assign presentation order without repeats. Streamers and community managers use it to pick a giveaway winner live, where the visible spin proves nothing was rigged. Meeting hosts use it to decide who goes first, event organizers use it for raffle draws, and families use it to settle who picks the restaurant or who goes first in a board game — anywhere a group needs one random person chosen and everyone needs to trust the process.

Customizing your name wheel

Beyond just the list, the Style tab lets you pick a color palette for the wheel (or randomize one), and the Timing tab controls how long each spin lasts, from 2 to 60 seconds. Turn on Elimination mode when you need several unique winners in a row — each name is removed from the wheel right after it wins, so a raffle with five prizes never repeats a name. The Sound tab controls the spin tick and winner chime independently.