A random team generator that keeps teams fair
Picking teams by hand is slow and somebody always feels hard done by. The random team generator takes a list of names and divides it into teams or groups by pure chance — for five-a-side football, a pub quiz, classroom group work, a hackathon, a family board-game night or splitting a sales list between colleagues.
Choose either the number of teams you want or how many people each team should have, and the generator makes the sizes as even as possible: with 10 names and 3 teams you get 4, 3 and 3, never 4, 4 and 2. Each team gets a name and a colour, you can reshuffle instantly if the first draw isn’t accepted, and the whole result copies as plain text for a group chat.
How to use the Team Generator
- Paste or type the names into the Names box, one per line or separated by commas.
- Pick Number of teams or Players per team and enter the number.
- Choose a naming style — numbered, colours, animals, or your own custom list of team names.
- Press Generate teams. The team cards appear with their members in random order.
- Not happy? Press Reshuffle. Then use Copy as text to share the line-up.
Team Generator features
Balanced sizes
Members are dealt one at a time around the teams after shuffling, so team sizes never differ by more than one person.
Teams or group size
Say “4 teams” for a tournament bracket or “5 per team” for a sport, and the generator works out the rest.
Genuinely random
Names are shuffled with the Fisher–Yates algorithm driven by crypto.getRandomValues, so every possible split is equally likely.
Named, colour-coded teams
Numbered teams, colour teams, animal mascots or your own names such as “Red Dragons” — each with its own card colour.
Reshuffle and copy
Regenerate until everyone agrees, then copy a tidy text list with team names and member counts.
Stays on your device
Your list and settings are kept in your browser for next time and never uploaded.
How the teams are made
The list is cleaned (blank lines removed), then shuffled with the Fisher–Yates algorithm: walking from the end of the list, each name is swapped with a randomly chosen earlier name. With a fair random source — here the browser’s cryptographic generator with rejection sampling — every ordering of the list is exactly equally likely. The shuffled names are then dealt round-robin: first name to Team 1, second to Team 2, and so on, back to Team 1 after the last team.
Dealing round-robin is what keeps sizes balanced. When “Players per team” is chosen, the number of teams is the smallest that fits everyone, and leftover people are spread across the teams rather than dumped into a tiny last team. Twelve players at 5 per team become three teams of 4, 4 and 4; eleven become 4, 4 and 3.
Example splits
| Names | Setting | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 3 teams | 4 · 3 · 3 |
| 10 | 4 per team | 3 teams: 4 · 3 · 3 |
| 12 | 5 per team | 3 teams: 4 · 4 · 4 |
| 22 | 2 teams | 11 · 11 |
| 30 | 6 per team | 5 teams of 6 |
| 7 | 2 teams | 4 · 3 |
Tips for fairer and happier teams
- Generate in front of everyone — a random draw people can see is accepted far more readily than one announced afterwards.
- Need balanced skill rather than balanced numbers? Split your list into tiers (strong, medium, new), run the generator once per tier with the same number of teams, and merge Team 1 from each run.
- Use custom team names to match coloured bibs or quiz-sheet colours so people know where to go.
- To choose a captain for each team, paste the team into the Random Name Picker; to decide who kicks off, flip a coin; to reorder a list without grouping it, use the List Randomizer.
Team Generator FAQ
How does the random team generator decide the teams?
It shuffles the names with a Fisher–Yates shuffle powered by the browser’s cryptographically secure random generator, then deals them in turn to each team. Every possible arrangement is equally likely and the sizes stay balanced.
What happens when the names do not divide evenly?
The extra people are spread across the first teams, so sizes differ by at most one. Ten names in three teams become 4, 3 and 3.
Can I choose how many people are on each team instead?
Yes. Switch “Split by” to “Players per team” and enter the size. The generator creates as many teams as needed and balances any remainder.
Can I name the teams myself?
Yes. Choose “Custom list” under Team names and type one name per line. Teams without a custom name fall back to “Team 1”, “Team 2” and so on.
Can I make teams of two?
Yes. Choose “Players per team” and enter 2 to pair everyone up at random, which is handy for partner work or doubles matches.
Is my list of names uploaded anywhere?
No. The names are processed entirely in your browser and saved only in its local storage so they are still there next time you open the page.