Generate random names in sql

Question

I have 5 random names each for male and female. I need to insert random names based on the gender. But how can we insert names in random from a set of 5 names in SQL. Is it

Answer 1

In SQL Server, the best way to get "random" is to use newid(). You can sort by this to get a sorted list.

If you have five names for each gender, you can use a CTE to store them. The insert would then look like:

with names as (
      select 'M' as gender, 'Alexander' as name union all
      select 'M', 'Burt' union all
      select 'M', 'Christopher' union all
      select 'M', 'Daniel' union all
      select 'M', 'Eric' union all
      select 'F', 'Alexandra' union all
      select 'F', 'Bertha' union all
      select 'F', 'Christine' union all
      select 'F', 'Daniela' union all
      select 'F', 'Erica'
)
insert into table(name)
    select top 1 name
    from names
    where gender = @MyGender
    order by newid();