The Name Tag has some quirky uses and as such is highly sought after. This guide will show you how to get a Name Tag in Minecraft, how to use it in the game and some Easter Eggs too.

How to Make a Name Tag in Minecraft

As of Minecraft Update 1.17, Name Tags are non-craftable items. You cannot make them in either of your Inventory or in the Crafting Table. Instead, they are obtained from Structures like Dungeons, Mineshafts, and Woodland Mansions in Java Edition while in Bedrock Edition you can them in Buried Treasure as well. The drop rates from each Structure are as follows:

Java Edition:

  • Dungeon: 28.3%
  • Mineshaft: 42.3%
  • Woodland Mansion: 28.3%

Bedrock Edition:

  • Dungeon: 28.3%
  • Mineshaft: 42.3%
  • Woodland Mansion: 27.9%
  • Buried Treasure: 34.3%

You can get Name Tags by Fishing. Name Tags are part of the Treasure category, not only it has a 5% but also a 1/6 chance in the Loot Table of the Treasure category. You can increase the odds by applying the Luck of The Sea III Enchantment on the Fishing Rod. The easiest way to obtain Name Tags is trading with a Master Librarian with approximately 20 Emeralds depending on your reputation with the Villagers.

How to Use a Name Tag

Name Tags  renames a mob, making it unable to despawn naturally. This is true for most mobs except for the Wandering Trader, he will despawn regardless of the Name Tag. You can rename all mobs except for a player or the Ender Dragon. Once used you cannot remove the Name Tag. The Name Tag can be renamed in the Anvil at the cost of 1 Experience Level. Once renamed just right-click on the mob you want to rename. Name Tags have cool Easter Eggs which change the properties of certain mobs.

Easter Eggs:

Easter Eggs are a very common sight in games and Minecraft makes no exception. With the Name Tag, you can find many Easter Eggs, some funny, some cool, some scary and some just heartwarming. You can check them for yourself:

  • Renaming the Name Tag as “Dinnerbone” or “Grumm” and applying it to a mob will orient any mob upside down.
  • Naming a Sheep as “jeb_” will cause the wool of the sheep to transition between colors and give it a rainbow effect. Upon harvesting the wool, it will give the color wool of what the sheep originally was.
  • A Rabbit named “Toast” will change the Texture of the Rabbit to a Memorial Texture of a user xyzen420’s girlfriend’s missing rabbit.
  • A Vindicator named “Johnny” will go on a Killing Rampage, killing all mobs and players insight. It will even kill the Wither and the Ravager. It won’t attack Ghasts or other Illagers. This is a reference to a scene from “The Shining”.

This was all for the Name Tags in Minecraft. Hopefully, This has helped you understand the Name Tag more in-depth. Now go and have a Rave party with jeb_ the Sheep, I hear he is a party animal. You can also check out our guides on Bane of Arthropodes and are Servers and Mods expensive?