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Random Team Generator

Paste a list of names, one per line, and choose either how many teams you want or how many people per team. The names are shuffled fairly with your browser's cryptographic random generator and split so team sizes never differ by more than one.

Free, no signupNo daily limitRuns in your browser - nothing you enter is uploadedUpdated

Every press makes a new, independent random split.

How the split stays fair

Two things make a random team split fair: every arrangement of the list must be equally likely, and no team should end up much bigger than another.

For the first, the list is shuffled with the Fisher-Yates method: starting from the last name, each name swaps places with a randomly chosen name at or before it. Each choice uses your browser's cryptographic random generator with rejection sampling, so there is no bias towards any position - unlike sorting by a random number, a common shortcut that is subtly unfair.

For the second, the shuffled names are dealt out like cards: first name to team 1, second to team 2, and so on, round and round. That guarantees team sizes never differ by more than one.

Ideas for class

  • Lab or project groups that are not always the same friends.
  • Debate sides, quiz teams or sports teams in seconds.
  • Pair work: set "people per team" to 2.

Worked example: 10 students, 3 teams

shuffled: Hina, Omar, Zoya, Ali, Amna, Usman, Sara, Bilal, Fatima, Daniyal deal: T1 T2 T3 T1 T2 T3 T1 T2 T3 T1 Team 1: Hina, Ali, Sara, Daniyal (4) Team 2: Omar, Amna, Bilal (3) Team 3: Zoya, Usman, Fatima (3)

10 ÷ 3 = 3 remainder 1, so exactly one team gets a fourth member. With "people per team = 3", 10 ÷ 3 rounds to 3 teams - the same split.

What this calculator does not do

  • It does not balance teams by skill, gender or any other attribute - every split is purely random.
  • It cannot keep chosen people together or apart.
  • Duplicate names are treated as different people.

Frequently asked questions

How are the teams chosen?
The whole list is shuffled with the Fisher-Yates method, using your browser's cryptographic random generator with rejection sampling so every order is equally likely. The shuffled names are then dealt out like cards, one to each team in turn.
Why are some teams one person bigger?
When the number of people does not divide evenly, a few teams get one extra person. Dealing in turn guarantees that team sizes never differ by more than one - 10 people in 3 teams gives 4, 3 and 3.
What is the difference between number of teams and people per team?
Number of teams fixes how many groups you get. People per team makes groups of about that size: 10 people with 3 per team gives 3 teams (of 4, 3 and 3), because 10 ÷ 3 rounds to 3.
Can I make new teams with the same list?
Yes. Press Shuffle again for a completely new random split. Each shuffle is independent of the last.
Is the class list saved or sent anywhere?
No. The names stay in this page and are gone when you close it. Nothing is uploaded.

Related free tools

Random Name Picker WheelSpin a wheel of names, roll dice, flip a coin or draw random numbers - fairly.
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Bingo Card GeneratorPrintable word or 1-75 number bingo cards with a shuffled call list.
Easy GraderA printable chart of percentage and letter grade for every score on a test.

Step-by-step guide: How to pick random names and make fair teams →

Built and checked by Taimur Hassan Siddiqui, who has more than ten years in computer-science education. The formulas on this page are covered by an automated test suite, and the worked example on this page is one of its cases. Last updated 7 October 2026.