Random Team Generator: Split Names Into Fair Random Teams
This free random team generator turns a list of names into fair, random teams in one click. Paste your names, choose how many teams you want or how many people go in each team, and select Generate. It works as a random group generator for classrooms, sports, game nights and work projects, and it runs in your browser.
Paste your names into the box and select Generate. Your teams appear instantly.
Use the toolOptions: team names, captains, keep apart, balance by skill
Your teams
Teams by count or size
Even splits, with sizes never more than one apart.
Rules that hold
Keep people apart or together, and name the teams.
Balance by skill
Add scores and teams are dealt in a snake draft.
Private by design
Your names never leave your browser.
Paste your names, choose the number of teams or the team size, and select Generate. Teams are dealt fairly, so sizes never differ by more than one person.
Key Takeaways
- Enter one name per line, set the number of teams or the team size, and the generator makes random teams in one click.
- The list is shuffled with the Fisher-Yates method and then dealt out in turn, so team sizes never differ by more than one person.
- Options let you add captains, name the teams, keep chosen people apart or together and balance teams by skill.
- Select Shuffle again for a new split. Teams are not saved, and names never leave your device.
Make Random Teams Online in Three Steps
Making random teams by hand takes longer than it should, and someone always thinks the split was not fair. A team generator removes the argument. Everyone goes into the shuffle, and the computer deals the teams.
Your names stay on your device. They are not uploaded or stored, so it is safe to paste a class register, a staff list or a league roster.
How to Use the Random Team Generator
-
1STEP 1 Paste your names into the box, one name per line. A column copied from a spreadsheet works as it is.
-
2STEP 2 Choose Number of teams or People per team, and enter the figure.
-
3STEP 3 Add options if you need them: team names, captains, keep-apart rules or skill balancing.
-
4STEP 4 Select Generate. Each team appears as its own card.
-
5STEP 5 Select Copy all to paste the teams into a message or document, or Download CSV for a spreadsheet. Select Shuffle again for a different split.
Random Team Generator Options
| Option | What it does | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Number of teams | Splits the list into the number of teams you enter. | You know how many teams the game or room needs. |
| People per team | Works out the number of teams from your target size. | You need pairs, fours or fives. |
| Team names | Gives each team a name or a number. | You want teams to be easy to call out. |
| Captains | Picks one random captain for each team. | Teams need a leader or a first speaker. |
| Keep apart | Stops chosen pairs from landing in the same team. | Two people should not work together, or two strong players should be split. |
| Keep together | Makes chosen people share a team. | Friends, partners or a pair that must stay together. |
| Balance by skill | Uses a score you add after each name to even out the teams. | Teams should be competitive, not just random. |
| Copy all and Download CSV | Exports every team at once. | You are sharing the result with a group. |
Random Group Generator: Teams by Number or by Size
There are two ways to ask for a split, and they give the same answer from different directions. If you pick the number of teams, the generator divides the people between them. If you pick the team size, it works out how many teams that makes. This is the same job people search for as a random group maker or a random group generator. To shuffle or pick winners from a list rather than make teams, use the list randomizer.
What Happens When the Numbers Do Not Divide Evenly
Few groups divide perfectly. The generator shuffles the list and then deals people out one at a time, like cards, so the extra people are spread across the teams. No team is ever more than one person larger than another.
| People | Teams | Resulting team sizes |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 3 | 4, 3 and 3 |
| 17 | 4 | 5, 4, 4 and 4 |
| 22 | 5 | 5, 5, 4, 4 and 4 |
| 30 | 6 | 5 in every team |
If you ask for teams of 4 from 22 people, the tool rounds the number of teams up to six and deals everyone out, giving teams of 4, 4, 4, 4, 3 and 3. Nobody is left alone in a one-person team. Check the preview before you copy.
Random Team Picker for Sports, Class and Work
A random team picker earns its place wherever people need to be split quickly and without argument. The same page handles all of these.
- Sports and games: five-a-side, pickup basketball, volleyball, dodgeball, quiz night and board game tournaments.
- Classrooms: group projects, lab partners, breakout rooms and reading circles.
- Work and training: workshop groups, hackathon teams, stand-up rotations and icebreaker sessions.
- Events and parties: scavenger hunts, escape rooms, trivia and team-building days.
- Online play: gaming lobbies and custom matches. Add one name per player and split.
Balanced Teams: Add a Skill Score
Pure randomness can give one team all the strongest players. To avoid it, add a number after each name, such as Sam, 8. Switch on Balance by skill and the tool uses a snake draft: it sorts people by score, deals the first row left to right, the next row right to left, and so on. The strongest and weakest players end up spread across every team.
The result is still random within each skill band, so it does not give the same split every time. Leave the scores off if you want a pure luck-of-the-draw split. Each team card shows its average score, so you can check that the teams are close.
Keep People Apart or Together
Add pairs that should not share a team, such as two people who always dominate a discussion. The generator reshuffles until none of the pairs are together. If your rules make a split impossible, such as keeping four people apart in a two-team split, it tells you so and does not loop forever.
Keep together works the other way round: names on one line always end up in the same team, which suits friends, carpoolers or a pair that must stay together. Team sizes still never differ by more than one.
How the Random Team Generator Works
The tool uses the Fisher-Yates shuffle, the standard method for putting a list in a fair random order. It works from the end of the list, swapping each item with a randomly chosen item from the part that has not been fixed yet. Every possible order is equally likely when the random numbers are unbiased.
After the shuffle, people are dealt round-robin into teams. Dealing in turn is what keeps sizes within one of each other. Splitting a shuffled list into consecutive blocks would also work, but dealing makes the rules for extra people simple to explain.
Is It Truly Random?
Computers produce pseudo-random numbers. MDN notes that Math.random is not cryptographically secure, while crypto.getRandomValues is suitable for cryptographic use. This generator takes its randomness from the second one, so a split cannot be predicted from an earlier one.
Is Random Always Fair?
Random means no one chose, which is a different thing from balanced. Fair-minded groups often prefer random because nobody is picked last and nobody can be accused of favouritism. If the teams must be even in ability, use the skill score. If they must be mixed by role, run the generator once per role and combine the results.
Random Team Name Generator Ideas
Teams often want names. If you leave the team-name box empty, the tool labels them Team 1, Team 2 and so on. If you would rather have a theme, choose one from the theme list in the options, or enter your own names, one per line, and they are matched to the teams at random.
- Use a theme such as colors, planets, animals or cities.
- Let each team choose its own name after the split, which gives them something to do while others finish.
- For classrooms, use topic words such as elements, rivers or historical figures to turn the split into a review.
Make Random Teams in Excel and Google Sheets
| Where | Method |
|---|---|
| Excel (Microsoft 365) | Put names in A2:A21. In B2 enter =RANDARRAY(ROWS(A2:A21)), then sort the names by column B and number them 1, 2, 3, 4 repeating to assign teams. |
| Google Sheets | In B2 enter =RAND() and fill down, sort the range by column B, then use =MOD(ROW()-2,4)+1 in column C to assign four teams. |
The sheet recalculates every time you change anything, so the teams keep moving. Copy and paste the result as values to freeze it. For a one-off split, pasting the names here is faster.
If your names list has repeats, the duplicate word remover can clean it before you generate teams.
Privacy: Your Names Stay in Your Browser
The shuffle and the split happen on your device. Names are not uploaded, stored or shared, and they disappear when you close the tab. Lists of real people count as personal data, so use class and staff lists only as your school or employer allows. Download the CSV before closing the tab if you want to keep the result.
FAQs
How do I make random teams?
Paste your names into the box, one per line, choose either the number of teams or the number of people per team, and select Generate. The names are shuffled and dealt into teams, which appear as separate cards you can copy or download. Select Shuffle again for a new split whenever you want one.
How does a random team generator work?
It shuffles your list with the Fisher-Yates method, which makes every possible order equally likely, and then deals people into teams one at a time like cards. Its random numbers come from your browser's secure generator, so a split cannot be predicted or steered by hand.
What if the teams cannot be even?
The extra people are spread across the teams. Team sizes never differ by more than one person. For example, 10 people in 3 teams become teams of 4, 3 and 3. The preview shows the final sizes before you copy anything.
Can I choose team size instead of the number of teams?
Yes. Switch to People per team and enter the size you want. The tool works out how many teams that makes and deals everyone out so no team is more than one person smaller than another. Pairs, fours and fives all work the same way.
How do I keep two people out of the same team?
Add them as a keep-apart rule in the options. The generator reshuffles until no pair shares a team. If your rules cannot all be met, for example keeping four people apart in a two-team split, it tells you so and asks you to relax a rule.
Can I make balanced teams by skill?
Yes. Add a score after each name, such as Sam, 8, and switch on Balance by skill. The tool sorts by score and deals in a snake order, so strong and weak players are spread across every team. The split still varies from one run to the next.
Is this the same as a random group generator or group maker?
Yes. Random team generator, random group generator and random group maker all describe the same job: splitting a list of people into smaller groups at random. Use the same tool for classroom groups, sports teams, breakout rooms and work projects. Only the names you enter change.
Are my names saved or uploaded?
No. Everything runs in your browser. The names you paste are not sent to a server or stored, and they are cleared when you close the tab. Use Copy all or Download CSV to keep a result, because it will not be available after you leave the page.
Related Free Tools
List Randomizer
Shuffle any list into a random order, or pick random items.
Open the toolSecret Santa Generator
Draw gift-exchange pairs with exclusions, by email or link.
Open the toolDuplicate Word Remover
Delete repeated words, lines and sentences.
Open the toolOnline Notepad
Write and keep notes in your browser, with autosave.
Open the toolReady to make your teams?
Scroll back to the generator, paste your names and make fair random teams in a second.
Use the tool