One way ..

Assuming the list of names is in A1:A1000

Put in say, E1: =RAND()
Copy down to E1000

Put in B1:

=INDEX(A:A,MATCH(SMALL(E:E,ROWS($A$1:A1)),E:E,0))

Copy down to B20*
(since you want 20 names at random)

B1:B20 will return a non-repeating randomized
selection of 20 names from amongst the list in col A

Press/tap F9 to recalc / re-generate a fresh selection

Just freeze the results elsewhere
with a copy paste special values ok

*Copy down further as desired if you need more than 20 names, or all the way
to B1000 to get a random mix of all 1000 names in col A
--
Rgds
Max
xl 97
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GMT+8, 1° 22' N 103° 45' E
xdemechanik <atyahoo<dotcom
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"yorkshire exile" <yorkshire wrote in
message ...
I need to be able to choose 20 names at random from an existing database
of
over 1000 names