MyWheelName.com Guides

How to Use a Random Name Picker

By My Wheel Name Team·Published June 11, 2026·5 min read

A random name picker does one job: it takes a list of names and chooses one without human bias. People reach for one when the stakes are low but the fairness matters — who presents first, who gets the last slice of pizza, which student answers the next question, who wins the office raffle. This guide takes you from a blank wheel to a confident first spin, then through the options that turn a simple picker into a raffle tool, an elimination game, or a classroom routine.

Step one: get names onto the wheel

There are more ways to add names than most people ever discover, and picking the right one saves real time. From fastest to most structured:

• Type and press Enter. Fine for a handful of names. The entry counter next to the input shows how many are loaded against the maximum (100 on the standard wheel).
• Paste a list. Copy a column from a spreadsheet or a names list from anywhere, paste it into the entry field, and each line becomes its own entry automatically. This is the workhorse method for ten or more names.
• Import a file. The IMPORT button accepts .txt files (one name per line) and .csv files (every cell becomes an entry).
• Import from Google Classroom. Teachers can connect a Classroom account and pull a student roster directly from an active course — no retyping thirty names every term.
• Drag and drop. Drop a text file straight onto the entry panel, or drop an image onto a specific entry to give that segment a photo — useful for wheels of faces rather than names.

Step two: spin

Press the spin button (or the wheel's hub). The wheel turns, slows, and the pointer lands on a winner, which also appears in a result pop-up where you can copy it to your clipboard or share it. That's the whole core loop. Two things worth knowing about what just happened: the result came from your browser's cryptographic random number generator, so every name had an equal chance; and the spin was computed on your device — there's no server deciding winners.

Step three: the options most people actually use

The default behavior — spin once, get one winner, names stay on the wheel — suits quick decisions. The Options menu changes the wheel's behavior for everything else:

• Multiple winners: pick two, three, or ten results in one spin session instead of spinning repeatedly. Good for "pick four volunteers."
• Remove winners: each picked name leaves the wheel, so nobody is chosen twice. This is the setting for taking turns, prize draws, and assigning tasks.
• Allow duplicates: the opposite — a name can win repeatedly. Useful when each spin is an independent event, like "who answers this question" drills.
• Elimination mode: the wheel spins repeatedly and removes each result until one name survives. It inverts the meaning of winning — the last name standing is your winner — and it's the most fun format for game nights.

Weights: making some names more likely on purpose

Every entry has a weight, which defaults to 1. Raise an entry's weight with the + control and it becomes proportionally more likely — a weight of 3 behaves like three raffle tickets. People use weights for earned chances (a customer with three purchases), for handicapping games, or for gently biasing chores toward whoever's turn it really is. The key habit: weights are visible per entry, so anyone inspecting the wheel can see exactly what the odds are. If you change weights, say so. We cover the probability math and the etiquette in a dedicated weighted wheel guide.

Saving and sharing your wheel

Any wheel you've set up — names, colors, options — can be saved to My Wheels with a free account, and it syncs across devices. Saving matters more than it sounds: the difference between a tool you use once and a routine is whether the setup survives until next time. A teacher saves one wheel per class; a team saves its standup wheel; a family saves the chores wheel. From My Wheels you can also generate a share link, and anyone who opens it gets your exact wheel — same names, same settings — without recreating anything. There's also a community library of shared wheels you can browse and import.

Customizing the look

The Customize panel controls segment colors (individually or via preset palettes), text contrast, the celebration confetti (classic, emoji, or the winner's name raining down), and even the spin button itself — you can upload your own image or logo to replace it. None of this changes the odds; it changes whether the wheel feels like yours. Streamers and teachers tend to brand theirs; everyone else usually picks a palette and moves on.

A few starting recipes

That's genuinely all there is to it. Add names the fast way, pick the option that matches your situation, and let the wheel make the call. The first time a group accepts a result without arguing — because the wheel said so — you'll understand why people keep one saved.