HTML select dropdown list

<select>
    <option value="" style="display:none">Choose one provider</option>
    <option value="1">One</option>
    <option value="2">Two</option>
</select>

This way the user cannot see this option, but it shows in the select box.

This is an old post, but this worked for me

<select>
  <option value="" disabled selected>Please select a name...</option> 
  <option>this</option>
  <option>that</option>
</select>

Try this:

<select>
    <option value="" disabled="disabled" selected="selected">Please select a name</option>
    <option value="1">One</option>
    <option value="2">Two</option>
</select>

When the page loads, this option will be selected by default. However, as soon as the drop-down is clicked, the user won't be able to re-select this option.

Hope this helps.

Have <option value="">- Please select a name -</option> as the first option and use JavaScript (and backend validation) to ensure the user has selected something other than an empty value.