A Fast, Fair, Private
Random Picker
No sign-up. No pop-ups. Your lists never leave your browser. Just a lightweight wheel that respects you and your time.
Why NameWheels?
Picking a name fairly should be the easiest thing on the internet. Too often it isn't. Many random pickers load slowly, demand sign-ups before you can spin, push intrusive pop-ups, and ship a stack of trackers along with the result.
NameWheels takes the opposite approach: a lightweight tool that runs entirely in your browser and never asks for an account. Add names, hit spin, get a winner. Then close the tab. That's the whole product.
The same idea drives every category page on this site — from the classroom student picker to the dinner-decider, the team-maker, and the Twitch raffle spinner. Each one is the same fair, private wheel pre-loaded for a specific use case.
No paywalls, no premium tier, no upsells, and currently no ads. The site is free to use.
Our Philosophy
Three core values guide everything we build.
Speed
No frameworks and no bloated JavaScript bundles: just static pages, one stylesheet and one small script. Everything runs client-side in your browser, and pages you've visited are cached so they keep working if the connection drops.
Privacy
Your names are stored in your browser's local storage — they never touch our servers. We can't see them and we never sell data. The only third-party services the site loads are Google Fonts and Google Analytics, which we use for aggregate visit statistics; the privacy policy explains exactly what that involves.
Zero Friction
No sign-up forms. No email verification. No "create an account to save your lists." No paywalls hiding core features. Just open the page and spin. We believe the best tools are the ones that disappear — they do exactly what you need and nothing more.
How It's Built
We're transparent about our tech. Here's what powers NameWheels.
100% Vanilla JavaScript
No React, Vue or Angular. Just plain, modern JavaScript in a single small file with no dependencies. The winner of every spin is chosen with the browser's cryptographically secure random number generator before the animation starts — here's how.
Client-Side Only
There's no backend. No database. No server processing your names. Everything happens in your browser. This keeps the app fast and inherently private. It also means we can serve the entire app from a CDN for near-instant global load times.
LocalStorage for Persistence
Your name lists are saved to your browser's local storage. They persist across sessions, survive page refreshes, and stay on your device. If you clear your browser data, they're gone — and that's by design. We never see them.
Progressive Web App (PWA)
Install NameWheels to your phone or desktop home screen. A service worker caches the pages you open, so they still load if your Wi-Fi drops — useful in classrooms and at events with spotty connectivity.
Hosted on a Static CDN
Because the entire app is static files, the whole site sits behind a CDN. There is no application server to attack, no database to leak, and no login system to compromise. That keeps the security surface small and the response times fast.
Future Roadmap
We're constantly improving NameWheels. Here's what's on the horizon.
Custom Color Themes
Choose your own wheel colors. Pick from pre-built palettes or design your own. Perfect for matching your brand, classroom theme, or stream aesthetic.
Sound Pack Options
A sound on/off toggle and spin-length setting are already on every wheel. Next: a choice of different tick and win sounds.
Weighted Entries
Give some entries more chances without typing them several times. (Automatic team splitting has already shipped on the team generator.)
Save Multiple Lists
Store separate lists for different class periods, games, or events. Switch between them instantly without re-typing.
Export/Import Lists
Download your name lists as CSV or JSON. Import lists from spreadsheets. Share lists across devices without creating an account.
Internationalization
Support for multiple languages. Make NameWheels accessible to classrooms and teams around the world.
How Our Content Is Made
Every category page and blog post on NameWheels is written and reviewed by the site's editorial team. Articles draw on widely accepted classroom practice, common streaming and remote-meeting workflows, and general guidance from psychology and educational literature. Where we describe research findings we keep the framing general; we don't fabricate specific citations.
Pages are updated when something material changes — a new feature ships, a recommendation goes stale, or a reader points out an error. Each article has a date and is rewritten rather than padded when it needs to grow.
NameWheels is independently operated. There is no venture funding, no affiliate sponsorships embedded in articles, and no paid placements in any wheel. The site currently carries no advertising.
How to Reach Us
Three simple ways to get involved or get in touch.
Use the Wheel
Open any wheel, add your names, and spin. The tool is free for personal, classroom, and commercial use — no account required.
Share It
If a wheel saved you time, share the URL with a colleague, fellow teacher, or stream community. Word-of-mouth is how new readers find us.
Send Feedback
Spot a bug, broken link, or article that needs an update? Email [email protected] or visit our contact page. Every message is read.