Name From a Hat — Free Online Random Name Draw
Name From a Hat
Names in the hat
One name per line, up to 200. Each name is drawn only once until the hat empties, then it refills.
Type in every name, press Draw, and watch a folded slip rise out of the hat and unfold to reveal a random winner. It's the timeless "pick a name out of a hat" method, made perfectly fair with cryptographic randomness — and nobody comes up twice until everyone has been drawn, so you can draw a whole Secret Santa, raffle or running order in one go.
- Teachers picking students
- Giveaways & Secret Santa
- No-repeats running orders
Drawing a Name From a Hat, Online
Writing everyone's name on a slip of paper and pulling one from a hat is the oldest, most trusted way to make a fair choice — no batteries, no arguments. This tool recreates that exact ritual on screen: the hat shakes, a folded slip rises out, and it unfolds to reveal a genuinely random name.
People have drawn lots this way for thousands of years — to assign duties, settle disputes, and share things out fairly. It works because nobody can see or feel which slip they will pull, so the result can't be steered. The trouble with a real hat is that folded slips aren't identical: a bigger fold or a stiffer paper can be found by touch, giving a subtle edge.
The digital version fixes that. Type in every name, press Draw, and the winner is chosen by a cryptographically secure random number — every name has exactly the same chance, and there's nothing to feel for. Every draw is without replacement, so each name comes out once before anyone repeats — perfect for putting a whole group into a random order.
Draw Once, or Draw Every Time?
The one question that changes everything is whether a drawn name goes back in the hat. This hat never puts it back; pick the tool that matches what you're doing.
This Hat: No Repeats (draw without replacement)
Each name is removed once it's drawn, so you never get the same person twice until the hat is empty. This is what you want for building a random running order, dealing people into turns, or a single-winner raffle where each ticket is unique. When the last name is out, the hat refills with everyone.
Repeats Allowed: Use a Wheel
When every draw should use the full list, so the same name can come up again, spin the Wheel of Names instead — it keeps every name on the wheel. That suits a draw that is an independent question each time, like repeatedly asking "who's next?" where being picked once shouldn't rule you out.
What People Draw For
- Secret Santa & gift swaps: draw who buys for whom, no repeats so everyone gets one match.
- Raffles & giveaways: pull one random winner from all the entries.
- Classroom picks: choose who answers, presents, or leads — fairly and visibly.
- Running order: draw every name once to set a random sequence for presentations or games.
- Chores & duties: let the hat decide who does what, so nobody can complain it was rigged.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about drawing names from a hat.
Yes — fairer than a real hat. The name is chosen with your browser's cryptographically secure random number generator, so every name has an identical chance and there's no slip to feel for.
It never does until everyone has had a turn. The hat always draws without replacement: each name is set aside once drawn, and the hat refills with everyone only when it is empty. If you want every name back in for each draw, use the Wheel of Names, which keeps the whole list on every spin.
Up to 200 names, one per line — the hat holds that many paper slips. The drawn names are listed below the hat so you can track a full sequence. For giveaways with hundreds or thousands of entrants, the Giveaway Wheel and the Classic Wheel have no entry limit at all.
Yes — completely free, unlimited draws, no sign-up, on any device.