Wheel of Names: Spin to Pick a Name at Random

What is a wheel of names?

A wheel of names is a random name picker: you type a list, spin the wheel, and it lands on one entry. It is the physical gesture of drawing a name out of a hat, done on a screen where a whole class or a whole meeting can watch it happen. The spin is genuinely random, and the wheel can be set to remove a name once it has been picked so nobody comes up twice.

The reason to spin a wheel rather than just choose is that everyone sees it is fair. Teachers use one to pick who reads next or who answers, which takes the decision off the teacher and the sting out of being chosen. Teams use one for standup order, for who presents, and for prize draws. It works on the board at the front of a room as well as on a laptop.

Features of the Wheel of Names

• Any number of names, pasted in as a list, one per line.
• A genuinely random spin, with the wheel landing where it lands.
• Remove the winner after each spin, so nobody comes up twice.
• Hide the names until the wheel stops, when the draw should not be previewable.
• Colour palettes and spin strength, so the wheel reads from the back of a room.
• Download the result, and nothing is sent anywhere — the list stays in your browser.

How to use the Wheel of Names

The wheel runs in your browser. No account, nothing installed, and nothing is sent anywhere while you use it.

1. Put the names in. One per line in the Names box. Paste a register, a list of entrants, or six places to eat — the wheel redraws as you type.
2. Tidy the list if you need to. Shuffle randomises the order, Sort puts it alphabetically, Clear empties it.
3. Give it a title. Optional, shown above the wheel and included in the download. Leave it empty to hide it.
4. Spin. Press the hub in the middle, or hit the space bar. The winner appears underneath when it stops.
5. Download it, if you want a record. Tick the responsible-use box, pick 2×, 3× or 4×, and press Generate. You get a PNG or a PDF of the wheel with the result on it.

Two switches change how a spin behaves. Hide names until it stops spins a blank wheel, so nobody can follow their own name round. Remove the winner takes each name off as it comes up, which is how you work through a whole class without anyone being picked twice.

How to use the Wheel of Names in schools

The reason to spin rather than simply choose is that everyone watching can see it was fair.

• Who reads next. It takes the decision off the teacher and the sting out of being picked.
• Cold calling, fairly. Turn on remove-the-winner and every student knows their turn is coming once, not at random forever.
• Groups and pairs. Spin down a class list to split it without anyone being chosen last.
• Prize draws and raffles. Hide the names until it stops, and the result is visibly unarranged.
• Online classes. It works on a shared screen as well as on the board at the front.

The list never leaves the browser, so a class register typed into it is not sent anywhere.

Tips for a fair, readable wheel

A wheel is only useful if the room trusts it. These are the things that decide whether it does.

• Two to twenty names is the readable range. More still works, and the labels get small. Past about forty you are better off splitting the list in two and spinning twice.
• Spin in front of people. The value of a wheel over a random number generator is entirely that everyone watches it happen. A result produced in private is just an assertion.
• Decide the rule before you spin, not after. Whether the winner comes off the wheel, whether you re-spin a duplicate, what happens if someone is absent. Deciding afterwards is how a fair draw stops looking fair.
• Use "Hide names" for anything contested. It removes the suspicion that somebody timed the stop, because there is nothing to time.
• Keep names short. First names, or a handle. Long entries get trimmed with an ellipsis on a crowded wheel.
• Download the result for a prize draw. A picture of the wheel with the winning name is a reasonable record to publish. It is not proof of a fair process, and nobody should present it as one.

What people use the wheel for

What people spin it for.

• Cold-calling in class. Paste the register, turn on Remove the winner, and work through everyone without the same three hands going up.
• Who goes first. Presentations, reading order, the order of a standup.
• Prize draws and giveaways. Entrants one per line; the download gives you a picture to post alongside the announcement.
• Splitting into teams. Put the team names on the wheel rather than the people, then spin once per person.
• Settling a decision. Lunch, which task to do first, which film. Four to six options is where a wheel reads best.
• Chores and rotas. Who does the washing up, who takes the notes.

It is a different kind of tool from the rest of Zeoob — everything else here draws a picture of a social media post. If that is what you were after, the Instagram post generator and the fake tweet generator are the two most used.

FAQ

Is the wheel of names free?

Yes, with no sign-up. Every feature, including HD downloads, works as a guest.

Is it actually random?

The landing position comes from your browser's random number generator, and the winner is read off wherever the wheel stops rather than chosen in advance. Nothing is weighted, and no name is more likely than any other. Shuffle uses a Fisher–Yates shuffle, so every ordering is equally likely — the one-line sort trick most sites use for this is measurably biased.

How many names can I add?

Up to 4,000 characters, which is several hundred names. Two to twenty is where the labels stay comfortably readable.

Can I stop the same person winning twice?

Yes — turn on Remove the winner and each name comes off the wheel as it is drawn.

Can I hide the names while it spins?

Yes. The wheel spins blank and the names reappear when it stops.

Does it work on a phone?

Yes. The editor has a phone layout with the wheel above and the controls below, and you can tap the hub to spin.

Can I save a list for next time?

Auto-save keeps your wheel in that browser. Log in and it follows you between devices.

Is anything uploaded?

Not while you use it. Downloading sends the finished picture to us once so it can be signed, and we keep a record of it — see the privacy policy. The names themselves are never sent anywhere unless you download.

Does the download have a watermark?

No visible one. A wheel is not a screenshot of anything, so there is nothing for anyone to pass off as real. Every image still carries the hidden origin mark that the verification tool reads from the original file.

Disclaimer

The wheel is a random picker and nothing more. It makes no decision for you and keeps no record of who was drawn, so do not present a spin as an audited or supervised draw. Zeoob is an independent education tool, not affiliated with or endorsed by any platform it imitates. Use the images for teaching, training, design, documentation and clearly labelled parody — never to deceive or impersonate. Every download carries a hidden origin mark that the verification tool reads back, and responsible use sets out where the line sits.