TL;DR
- Name tags became craftable in Minecraft with the Tiny Takeover update (Java 26.1 / Bedrock 26.10), released March 24, 2026.
- The recipe is one metal nugget (iron, gold, or copper) plus one paper, placed diagonally in a crafting grid.
- It is a shaped recipe — the nugget goes top-left or top-right, paper goes diagonally below it.
- You can craft name tags in your 2×2 inventory grid — no crafting table needed.
- You must rename the name tag on an anvil before using it on a mob.
- Named mobs never despawn, making name tags essential for pets, farms, and key villagers.
- Special names like “jeb_” on sheep and “Dinnerbone” on any mob trigger Easter egg effects.
Name tags in Minecraft are finally craftable. For years, players had to hunt through dungeons, mineshafts, and trading halls just to find a handful of them. The Tiny Takeover update — released March 24, 2026 as Java Edition 26.1 and Bedrock Edition 26.10 — added a crafting recipe for name tags using only two basic materials. This guide covers the full crafting recipe, how to use name tags correctly, where else to find them, and all confirmed special name Easter eggs.
Name Tag Crafting Recipe in Minecraft
The name tag recipe requires just two items:
- 1 metal nugget — iron nugget, gold nugget, or copper nugget. Any of the three works. The metal type does not change the appearance or function of the name tag.
- 1 paper — crafted from three sugar canes placed in a horizontal row in a crafting grid.
This is a shaped recipe, not shapeless — the items must go in specific slots. Place the metal nugget in the top-left or top-right slot of a crafting grid. Place the paper in the slot diagonally below the nugget. That combination yields one name tag. The positioning matters — dropping both items anywhere in the grid without the diagonal shape will not work.
The recipe fits in a 2×2 crafting grid, which means you can craft name tags directly from your inventory without needing a crafting table. Open your inventory, place the nugget top-left, paper bottom-right, and the name tag appears in the output slot.
How to Get Metal Nuggets for Name Tags
You need one nugget per name tag. All three nugget types are easy to get early in a survival world:
- Iron nuggets — Smelt any iron gear or tool found in chests, or craft one iron ingot in a crafting grid to get nine iron nuggets directly. Iron is the most common option.
- Gold nuggets — Smelt golden tools or armor, or craft one gold ingot to get nine gold nuggets. You can also find gold nuggets from zombie piglins in the Nether.
- Copper nuggets — Craft one copper ingot to get nine copper nuggets. Copper is one of the most common ores in the game, making it a reliable early source.
Since one ingot gives you nine nuggets, a single copper or iron ingot gives you enough nuggets for nine name tags. If you have a working mine or have explored any underground area, you almost certainly have enough metal to start crafting name tags immediately. See our guide on how to find diamonds in Minecraft if you are still getting started with underground exploration, and our how to make paper in Minecraft guide for the paper crafting recipe.
How to Get Paper for Name Tags
Paper is crafted from three sugar canes. Place three sugar cane items in a horizontal row across any row of a crafting table to get three paper sheets. Sugar cane grows naturally near water in most biomes. It is one of the easiest resources to find and farm. Our automatic sugar cane farm guide shows how to set up a farm that keeps paper in constant supply.
How to Use a Name Tag in Minecraft
A freshly crafted name tag is blank. You must rename it on an anvil before it will have any effect on a mob. Using a blank name tag on a mob does nothing. Here is the full process:
- Step 1 — Place an anvil on the ground and right-click it to open the anvil interface. Our grindstone guide covers the difference between an anvil and grindstone if you are not sure which to use.
- Step 2 — Put the blank name tag in the left slot of the anvil.
- Step 3 — Type the name you want in the text field at the top. The name tag will show the name in the output slot.
- Step 4 — Take the renamed name tag from the output slot. This costs 1 XP level.
- Step 5 — Hold the name tag and right-click the mob you want to name. The name will appear above the mob.
Once a mob has been named, it will never despawn. It stays in the world permanently unless it is killed. This is what makes name tags so valuable for pets, key villagers, and utility mobs like the ones in an iron golem farm. See our iron golem farm guide for more on keeping mobs in controlled setups.
What Mobs Can You Use a Name Tag On?
You can use a name tag on almost any mob in the game — passive, neutral, and hostile. This includes wolves, cats, horses, villagers, zombies, skeletons, creepers, axolotls, and more. Name tags cannot be used on players or special bosses like the Ender Dragon. Wandering traders also cannot be named. Everything else is fair game.
Named hostile mobs also stop despawning, which is useful if you want to keep a specific mob around for a farm or for decoration. Named zombies, skeletons, and spiders will stay in your world indefinitely.
Special Name Easter Eggs in Minecraft
Certain names trigger unique visual effects when applied to mobs. These are Easter eggs built into the game. Here are all the confirmed ones:
- “jeb_” on a sheep — The sheep’s wool cycles through all 16 colors in a rainbow animation. The wool it drops when sheared still matches its original color.
- “Dinnerbone” on any mob — The mob flips upside down and stays that way permanently.
- “Grumm” on any mob — Same upside-down effect as Dinnerbone. Both names are references to Minecraft developers.
- “Toast” on a rabbit — Changes the rabbit’s texture to a specific black-and-white skin. This is a tribute to a player’s lost pet rabbit.
- “Johnny” on a vindicator — The vindicator becomes aggressive toward every mob except other illagers, attacking anything it can reach. Named after the character from The Shining.
These Easter eggs work in both Java and Bedrock editions. The names are case-sensitive on Java Edition for some of them — “jeb_” must be lowercase with an underscore, and the D in “Dinnerbone” must be capitalized.
Other Ways to Get Name Tags in Minecraft
Crafting is now the fastest method, but the older ways of finding name tags still work. Name tags can still be found in loot chests, obtained through fishing, and bought from wandering traders. Here are the chances:
- Mineshaft chests — 42.3% chance per chest. The most reliable loot chest source.
- Monster room (dungeon) chests — 25.3% chance.
- Woodland Mansion chests — 28.3% chance. See our how to find a woodland mansion guide.
- Ancient City chests — 16.1% chance. See our ancient city guide for how to get there.
- Fishing — 0.8% chance as a treasure catch. Very slow but possible.
- Wandering Trader — Sells one name tag for 1 emerald with a 7% chance of appearing in the trade inventory.
Note that librarian villagers no longer trade name tags following the Tiny Takeover update. That trade was removed when the crafting recipe was added. Woodland Mansion and Ancient City chests also no longer contain name tags as of the same update. The loot table sources listed above replace those older locations.
What Changed About Name Tags in the Tiny Takeover Update?
Before March 2026, name tags could not be crafted at all. They were treasure items — rare chest loot or obtainable only through fishing and specific villager trades. This made them scarce enough that most players saved them for only their most important mobs.
The Tiny Takeover update added the crafting recipe and adjusted name tag sources across the board. The librarian trade was removed. Woodland Mansion and Ancient City chests no longer drop them. The wandering trader now occasionally sells one at a low price. The end result is a cleaner system — crafting is the primary method, with a few exploration and trading options as backups.
The timing of the change tied directly to the update’s theme. Tiny Takeover focused on baby mobs and emotional attachment to mobs. Mojang added the name tag recipe specifically so players could easily name all the new baby mobs without having to grind for rare loot. Alongside the golden dandelion — which stops baby mobs from growing up — the craftable name tag made the update feel much more personal for players who keep pets and companions.
Name Tag Tips for Farms and Survival Worlds
- Name your key villagers. A named villager never despawns and is easier to track in a large trading hall. See our villager trades and jobs guide and trading tiers guide for which villagers are worth naming first.
- Name mobs in farms to prevent despawn issues. If you have a mob-based XP farm or utility farm, naming the key mobs ensures the farm does not break due to despawning. Our XP mob farm guide covers the setup.
- Keep a stock of nuggets and paper near your anvil. Since the recipe is so cheap, having materials on hand means you can make a name tag in seconds whenever you need one.
- Name tags work on baby mobs too. Named baby mobs also stop despawning. Combined with a golden dandelion to stop them aging, you can keep any baby mob young and permanent in your world.
- Use copper nuggets if iron is scarce. Copper is one of the most common ores underground right now, making copper nuggets the easiest source for bulk name tag production.
For more on taming and keeping mobs, see our guides on how to tame animals in Minecraft, how to tame axolotls, and how to breed villagers. And if you are catching up on what other 2026 updates have added, the red shrubs guide covers the upcoming dappled forest decorative plant arriving in Fall 2026.
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