Which cities are in the list?

The world list has forty named cities spanning every inhabited continent. Example list also offers two separate sets of 20 US and 20 European cities. Each is a fixed curated set; none is a complete city database, a population sample or a travel recommendation. The tool stores the lists locally and does not fetch city data.

Can I use my own list of cities?

Yes. Edit the box, or paste your own list over it, one city per line or separated by commas. A column copied out of a spreadsheet pastes straight in. Changing the list rebuilds the pool and clears the draws made from the old one.

Can I stop a city coming up twice?

Set aside removes a drawn entry, so each city in the opening unique list can appear once per round. If you paste repeated cities, use Remove repeated names first. Keep in pool permits repeat picks. Reset pool restores the current full list.

Can I draw a shortlist of several cities at once?

Raise Pick count to no more than the remaining pool. With Set aside and a unique city list, each city in a draw is different. Copy draws copies the completed history in chronological order. Choosing another example list starts a new round.

Each entry has an equal chance, chosen using browser cryptographic random numbers and rejection sampling. The animated reveal follows the choice. Repeated entries weight a city by the number of copies; remove them if each city should have one chance.

How do I pick a random US or European city?

Choose 20 US cities or 20 European cities in Example list, then press Pick. The US set includes New York, Houston, Seattle, Boston and Washington DC; the Europe set includes London, Berlin, Rome, Warsaw and Reykjavik. The Europe list is geographic and is not limited to European Union members. Paste your own city set when you need different coverage.

Random City Picker

Start with forty world cities spanning every inhabited continent. Pick count opens at 1 with Set aside on. Example list also offers 20 US cities or 20 European cities for a regional draw. These are curated practice lists, not every city or population-weighted samples. Edit or paste your own destinations, then draw a shortlist or work through the list without repeating an entry.

Names40 names

The pick40 of 40 in the pool

Ready

Pool: 40 of 40

Pick count

Picked name

Example list

Every entry is a ticket. Set aside removes tickets, so repeated names can still win again. Remove repeated names before starting for one chance per person. This changes the list and starts a new round.

No draw yet. Pick draws a name from the pool.

Press Space to pick without reaching for the mouse. Names are separated by line breaks and by commas, so a column pasted from a spreadsheet and a comma list both work. Editing the list rebuilds the pool and clears the draws, and Reset pool puts every name back and clears the draws without touching the list.

The spin decides nothing. The winner is drawn from crypto.getRandomValues the moment you press Pick, and the names that flick past afterwards are frames built to end on it. Watching it cannot change who came out. Each name in the pool has the same chance per entry on every draw: the index is taken by rejection sampling rather than a remainder, so no position in your list is favored. A name typed twice is two entries in the pool, which is how you give someone two chances, and the Names header counts the repeats so it is never a surprise.

Common questions

Which cities are in the list?: The world list has forty named cities spanning every inhabited continent. Example list also offers two separate sets of 20 US and 20 European cities. Each is a fixed curated set; none is a complete city database, a population sample or a travel recommendation. The tool stores the lists locally and does not fetch city data.
Can I use my own list of cities?: Yes. Edit the box, or paste your own list over it, one city per line or separated by commas. A column copied out of a spreadsheet pastes straight in. Changing the list rebuilds the pool and clears the draws made from the old one.
Can I stop a city coming up twice?: Set aside removes a drawn entry, so each city in the opening unique list can appear once per round. If you paste repeated cities, use Remove repeated names first. Keep in pool permits repeat picks. Reset pool restores the current full list.
Can I draw a shortlist of several cities at once?: Raise Pick count to no more than the remaining pool. With Set aside and a unique city list, each city in a draw is different. Copy draws copies the completed history in chronological order. Choosing another example list starts a new round.
Is the draw fair?: Each entry has an equal chance, chosen using browser cryptographic random numbers and rejection sampling. The animated reveal follows the choice. Repeated entries weight a city by the number of copies; remove them if each city should have one chance.
How do I pick a random US or European city?: Choose 20 US cities or 20 European cities in Example list, then press Pick. The US set includes New York, Houston, Seattle, Boston and Washington DC; the Europe set includes London, Berlin, Rome, Warsaw and Reykjavik. The Europe list is geographic and is not limited to European Union members. Paste your own city set when you need different coverage.

Each entry has the same chance, from the browser's cryptographic generator. Repeated names receive extra chances. Set aside removes drawn entries; deduplicate first to avoid repeating a person.