How it works
This class name word search hides your own pupils in the grid. Paste first names, one per line, up to 40, and the puzzle builds as you type. Hyphens, spaces, apostrophes and accents are dropped in the grid and kept in the printed list. Pick a level, add a title such as Welcome to Room 12, and print it with an answer key. Names stay in this browser.
Read the full guide
Paste the class list, then read the notes
Paste first names into the field at the top. The made-up sample class shows what happens to each kind of name: Anne-Marie is hidden as ANNEMARIE, Ana Sofia as ANASOFIA, D'Andre as DANDRE and José as JOSE, while the printed list keeps every name as typed. Two pupils called Ava need a last initial each, because a second plain Ava is left out as a repeat.
Pick a grid that fits the class
The grid grows by itself when the names do not fit. It opens at 15 by 15. It can never be narrower than your longest name: Christopher needs 11 squares. As a guide, up to 25 names fit 15 by 15, 26 to 32 need 17 by 17, and 33 to 40 need 18 to 20. Easy hides names across and down, medium adds two diagonals, and hard uses all eight directions, backwards included.
Print it for the day you need it
Print on Letter or A4: one sheet, even for 40 names on an 18 by 18 grid, then the answer key on its own page. Press New puzzle first if neighbors should get different grids of the same names. A classroom name word search earns its place in the first week, when pupils are still learning who is who, and again before a Valentine's card exchange, when everyone has to spell every name. On the last day it makes a keepsake: let classmates sign the back.
- Add yourself as a bonus word: Ms. Rivera is hidden as MSRIVERA. Digits are dropped, so Room 12 becomes plain ROOM unless you spell the number out.
- A gradebook paste such as Smith, Ava splits at the comma, so every surname becomes its own word. Paste a first-name column instead.
- When Liam and William share a class, LIAM can be read inside WILLIAM too. The answer key rings both places, and either one counts.
- By October, open More options and set Word list to Hide the words. The sheet then prints only letter counts, so pupils must recall each name before hunting for it.
Questions and answers
Is it safe to type my pupils' names here?
Names stay in this browser: the puzzle is built on your own device, and nothing you type is sent to us. It is also kept in this browser, so it is there when you come back. On a shared computer press Start again when you finish: it takes your names out. Keep to first names, with a last initial only where two pupils share one.
Can I send the puzzle to pupils as a link?
No, the page makes no link to a puzzle. Print or save as PDF gives a file instead, and a word search with student names carries those names wherever the file is sent. For a class list, paper is the better route.
How do I add school words to the names?
Type them under the names in the same box. Two lists of 12 are printed below the tool to copy from: welcome-back words such as Classmates and Kindness, and end-of-year words such as Memories and Autograph. A pick under Start from a list adds that list's words to your names, and Undo takes them out again.
Why was a name left out of the puzzle?
The tool names it under the list and says why. The usual reasons: the name is longer than the grid is wide, it is typed twice, it is a single letter, it comes after the first 40 entries, or the grid is too full. Widen the grid or fix the entry and the puzzle rebuilds. A name left out is never on the printed list or the key.
What about names that do not use the letters A to Z?
The grid holds the 26 letters from A to Z. An accented letter is folded to its plain letter, so Zoë is hidden as ZOE and Nguyễn as NGUYEN. A few letters, such as ø and ł, have no plain form and are skipped, so type Soren for Søren. A name in another script is refused: use the Latin spelling the pupil writes at school.