Random name generator

Use the spinning wheel below to generate a random male or female English name that was popular in the last 100 years.

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The results are in!
James
Robert
John
Michael
David
William
Richard
Joseph
Thomas
Charles
Christopher
Daniel
Matthew
Anthony
Mark
Donald
Steven
Paul
Andrew
Joshua
Kenneth
Kevin
Brian
George
Timothy
Ronald
Edward
Jason
Jeffrey
Ryan
Jacob
Gary
Nicholas
Eric
Jonathan
Stephen
Larry
Justin
Scott
Brandon
Benjamin
Samuel
Gregory
Alexander
Frank
Patrick
Raymond
Jack
Dennis
Jerry
Tyler
Aaron
Jose
Adam
Nathan
Henry
Douglas
Zachary
Peter
Kyle
Ethan
Walter
Noah
Jeremy
Christian
Keith
Roger
Terry
Gerald
Harold
Sean
Austin
Carl
Arthur
Lawrence
Dylan
Jesse
Jordan
Bryan
Billy
Joe
Bruce
Gabriel
Logan
Albert
Willie
Alan
Juan
Wayne
Elijah
Randy
Roy
Vincent
Ralph
Eugene
Russell
Bobby
Mason
Philip
Louis
Mary
Patricia
Jennifer
Linda
Elizabeth
Barbara
Susan
Jessica
Sarah
Karen
Lisa
Nancy
Betty
Margaret
Sandra
Ashley
Kimberly
Emily
Donna
Michelle
Carol
Amanda
Dorothy
Melissa
Deborah
Stephanie
Rebecca
Sharon
Laura
Cynthia
Kathleen
Amy
Angela
Shirley
Anna
Brenda
Pamela
Emma
Nicole
Helen
Samantha
Katherine
Christine
Debra
Rachel
Carolyn
Janet
Catherine
Maria
Heather
Diane
Ruth
Julie
Olivia
Joyce
Virginia
Victoria
Kelly
Lauren
Christina
Joan
Evelyn
Judith
Megan
Andrea
Cheryl
Hannah
Jacqueline
Martha
Gloria
Teresa
Ann
Sara
Madison
Frances
Kathryn
Janice
Jean
Abigail
Alice
Julia
Judy
Sophia
Grace
Denise
Amber
Doris
Marilyn
Danielle
Beverly
Isabella
Theresa
Diana
Natalie
Brittany
Charlotte
Marie
Kayla
Alexis
Lori
Slices (200)
James
Robert
John
Michael
David
William
Richard
Joseph
Thomas
Charles
Christopher
Daniel
Matthew
Anthony
Mark
Donald
Steven
Paul
Andrew
Joshua
Kenneth
Kevin
Brian
George
Timothy
Ronald
Edward
Jason
Jeffrey
Ryan
Jacob
Gary
Nicholas
Eric
Jonathan
Stephen
Larry
Justin
Scott
Brandon
Benjamin
Samuel
Gregory
Alexander
Frank
Patrick
Raymond
Jack
Dennis
Jerry
Tyler
Aaron
Jose
Adam
Nathan
Henry
Douglas
Zachary
Peter
Kyle
Ethan
Walter
Noah
Jeremy
Christian
Keith
Roger
Terry
Gerald
Harold
Sean
Austin
Carl
Arthur
Lawrence
Dylan
Jesse
Jordan
Bryan
Billy
Joe
Bruce
Gabriel
Logan
Albert
Willie
Alan
Juan
Wayne
Elijah
Randy
Roy
Vincent
Ralph
Eugene
Russell
Bobby
Mason
Philip
Louis
Mary
Patricia
Jennifer
Linda
Elizabeth
Barbara
Susan
Jessica
Sarah
Karen
Lisa
Nancy
Betty
Margaret
Sandra
Ashley
Kimberly
Emily
Donna
Michelle
Carol
Amanda
Dorothy
Melissa
Deborah
Stephanie
Rebecca
Sharon
Laura
Cynthia
Kathleen
Amy
Angela
Shirley
Anna
Brenda
Pamela
Emma
Nicole
Helen
Samantha
Katherine
Christine
Debra
Rachel
Carolyn
Janet
Catherine
Maria
Heather
Diane
Ruth
Julie
Olivia
Joyce
Virginia
Victoria
Kelly
Lauren
Christina
Joan
Evelyn
Judith
Megan
Andrea
Cheryl
Hannah
Jacqueline
Martha
Gloria
Teresa
Ann
Sara
Madison
Frances
Kathryn
Janice
Jean
Abigail
Alice
Julia
Judy
Sophia
Grace
Denise
Amber
Doris
Marilyn
Danielle
Beverly
Isabella
Theresa
Diana
Natalie
Brittany
Charlotte
Marie
Kayla
Alexis
Lori

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Top names over the last 100 years (1922 - 2021)

This random name generator contains 100 popular male names and 100 popular female names. The names were popular in the last 100 years, from 1922 to 2021. Note that these names were not necessarily consistently popular. This means that a certain name may have been very popular for 20 years but then went out of style. Theses names will still be in this list as they made it to the top 100. In short: you may find names that are not popular anymore today.

Background information for popular names

The data used for this spinning wheel comes from the United States Social Security Administration, which lists the most popular names by decade. Their data comes from social security applications, mostly applied for after 1937. The data pool contains 177M male names and 172M female names. If you want to know more, you can read more about their data source and data qualifications here.

Use cases

You've undoubtedly seen that the internet is filled with random name generators. Plenty of sites allow you to see a list of random names by pressing a button. However, we find that approach boring and counter-productive for some use cases. Using a wheel of fortune as a random name generator is a better choice. Here's why:

Baby names

Choosing a baby name you (and your partner, if any) like can feel both thrilling and daunting at the same time. Using other randomizers, you get various long lists of names. Honestly, those are exhausting to go through. Choosing your babies name is important and using a wheel, you only see one name at a time. You can take your time to soak it in before moving on to the next name.

Pet names

Getting a new pet is always an exciting time, but it might be difficult to find a name you like. There are just so many options! Trying the random name wheel is the perfect companion to help find a name for your furry (or not-so-furry) friend.

Character names

Writing a novel or screenplay? Our random name picker is the perfect companion to help name your secondary characters!

How to use this random decision wheel?

1

Configure

Before spinning, you can change the appearance, sound, and other settings of the wheel to match your style.

2

Play

Click the Spin button (or the center of the wheel) and the wheel will start turning before landing on a random segment.

3

Create your own

Do you want to create your own wheel based on this? Click the copy icon to copy the wheel. After that, you can add or edit slices.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most popular male name?

"James" was the most common first name between 1922 and 2021 in the US, according to the United States Social Security Administration. "Robert" was the second most popular name during that same period.

What is the most popular female name?

"Mary" was the most common first name between 1922 and 2021 in the US, according to the United States Social Security Administration. "Patricia" and "Jennifer" are the runner ups for that same period.

How many different first names are there?

The US Social Security Administration released a file containing 31,537 different names for births in 2021. The exact number of different English names out there is currently unknown. We do know that 1000 names make up about 76% of the US population.

Is the spinner wheel truly random?

In practice: yes. In theory: no. That sounds confusing, but let us explain! In computer programs, nothing is truly random, but it is pseudo-random because a number generated by a program (algorithm) is by definition not random. That said, for 99% of use cases, pseudo-random numbers are considered random enough.

In short: yes the random spinning wheel is truly random and unbiased. Moreover, it can't be rigged! There is no way you can influence the chances of landing on a segment sooner. Changing the timing settings on the wheel will not influence the randomness in any way.

Is it possible to cheat

No! The wheel result is completely randomized. We do not run any pre-processing steps or other decision-making algorithms. The result the wheel lands on is chosen completely random and can not be rigged.