Google Meet and Teams Name Picker
Copy the people list from your call, or drop the attendance file, and this page pulls out the names. It skips the host labels, email addresses, join times and duplicates, then puts everyone on a fair wheel you can share on screen.
Why Picking From the Call Is Harder Than It Looks
On a video call the list of names is right there in the People panel, but getting it onto a wheel is fiddly. Copy it and you get the names mixed with everything else the panel shows: "(You)", "Meeting host", "Organizer", email addresses, sometimes a line for each device someone joined from. Download an attendance report and you get a spreadsheet with a summary block, join and leave times, durations and roles, and people who dropped and rejoined appear twice.
This page does the cleaning for you. It recognises the common header formats from Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Zoom reports, picks the name column, ignores the rest, and removes duplicates so someone with a shaky connection does not get three chances. Anything it skipped is listed under the names, so you can see exactly what was left out and why.
Getting the List Out of Each App
MGoogle Meet, during the call
Open People, select the names in the panel with your mouse, copy, and paste them into the box above. Interface words like "(You)" and "Meeting host" are removed automatically. This works on any Meet account.
MGoogle Meet, attendance report
On Workspace editions with attendance tracking, the organiser gets an email after the meeting with a Google Sheets attendance report. Open it, use File, Download, CSV, and drop the file here. Or select the name columns in the sheet and paste them.
TMicrosoft Teams, during the meeting
Open People. Organisers can choose More actions and Download attendance list, which saves a CSV file; drop it here as it is. Anyone can also select the names in the People panel, copy and paste.
TMicrosoft Teams, after the meeting
The attendance report appears for organisers in the meeting chat or the Attendance tab of the calendar event, with a download option. Teams often saves these files in UTF-16 with tabs between columns; this page reads that format directly.
ZZoom
Copy names from the Participants panel, or download a participants report from the Zoom web portal if your account has reports. The "Name (original name)" column is detected automatically. The Zoom page has more ideas for Zoom calls.
+Anything else
Webex, Slack huddles, a class roster, a sign up form export: paste the list or drop the CSV. If the file has a column called Name, Full name or First name and Last name, it is found automatically.
Showing the Wheel on the Call
Spinning is more fun when everyone can watch it. Share the wheel the same way you share anything else, and pick the option that carries sound so people hear the ticks slow down.
Google Meet: present a tab
Choose Present now, then A tab, select this tab and keep Also share tab audio on. Meet shows only the tab, so your other windows stay private.
Microsoft Teams: share a window
Choose Share, pick the browser window with this page, and turn on Include sound (called Include computer sound in some versions) if you want the ticks heard.
Make it big
Use Open on the full wheel for the complete NameWheel wheel, which has a full screen spin view, themes, and Eliminate mode. Your cleaned list goes with it in the link.
Say the name out loud
Compressed video can blur text for some people. Reading the winner's name out takes a second and makes sure everyone, including anyone dialled in by phone, knows who was picked.
Ways to Use It in Meetings and Classes
Who speaks next
Stand ups and round robins go faster when the wheel picks the order. Keep winner removal on and everyone gets exactly one turn.
Cold calling, kindly
In an online class, a random pick feels fairer than the teacher choosing, and students stay alert because anyone could be next.
Prize draws for attendees
Drop the attendance file in after a webinar and everyone who actually attended goes on the wheel. For prizes of real value, run a certified draw so you can share proof.
Breakout groups
Copy the cleaned names into the team generator to split the call into balanced groups, then assign them to breakout rooms.
Icebreakers
Spin a name, then spin a question from the icebreaker wheel. Two spins, one small moment of fun at the start of a call.
Presentation order
For a full running order in one go, the marble race ranks the whole list. Paste the cleaned names in and race them.
Privacy: Names Stay on Your Device
Attendance files contain more than names: email addresses, join times, sometimes roles and user IDs. This page reads files with your browser's own file reader, keeps only the names, and never sends the file or the list to a server. Nothing is stored except your Leave out field, which is remembered on this device so you do not have to type your own name every time.
If you open the list on the full wheel, the names travel inside the link to the NameWheel wheel, after the # sign, a part of the address that browsers do not send to servers.
Meet and Teams Name Picker Questions
How do I pick a random person on Google Meet?
How do I pick a random name in Microsoft Teams?
Does it remove the host and people who joined twice?
Is the attendance file uploaded anywhere?
Is the pick random?
Can I use it in a Teams or Meet breakout room?
Does it work with Zoom too?
Running the meeting from Zoom?
The Zoom guide covers sharing the wheel, icebreaker ideas and tips for remote facilitators.