How the draw works
All the names are shuffled with the Fisher–Yates method — the computer version of mixing paper slips in a hat — and the first ones out are picked, in order. Every name has the same chance, k in n, and the order tells you who came out first, which helps when the prizes aren't equal.
Use it for a giveaway winner, who presents first, a secret gift exchange starter or the two people who get the front seats. Up to 30 names, 20 characters each.
How does Draw Names pick the winners?
When you press Draw, your browser makes a random 8-character code and the link becomes /draw/, then the names, then how many to pick, then the code. The code is hashed together with the tool name, the number to pick and every name, and that seeds a mulberry32 generator. The generator drives one Fisher–Yates shuffle of the list; the first k names out are picked, in the order they came out, and everyone else is listed as not picked, in the order you typed them.
Because the number to pick is part of the hash, drawing 1 and drawing 2 from the same names with the same code are separate draws: the winner of one isn't automatically the first name of the other. Same names, same number, same code always give the same result on any device, and there is no database behind it. You can enter 2 to 30 names, the same name only once, and pick from 1 up to one fewer than the number of names.
Limits: the code is 32 bits, plenty for an even draw among 30 names, but this is not a certified lottery generator, so don't use it where rules call for an audited draw. Names are visible to anyone with the link, and drawing again makes a new link.