Name tag in Minecraft: recipe and how to use it
Utility item
Name Tag
Yes (64)
Paper + nugget (since 26.1)
Crafting - no luck needed
1 XP level at an anvil
1.6.1 (recipe: 26.1)
Up to 50 characters (Java), 30 (Bedrock)
Table of contents
What a name tag does
The name tag is an item that gives a mob a custom name, shown above its head. Since 26.1 you can craft it from paper and a metal nugget, and it also turns up in chests, on a fishing rod and in a wandering trader's stock. Before you can use it on a mob, you have to type the name on an anvil for 1 experience level.
The name tag was added in 1.6.1 and had no recipe for years. The biggest change came in 26.1: the name tag got a recipe, disappeared from the librarian's trades and from the chests in woodland mansions and ancient cities, and the wandering trader started selling it. It stacks to 64.
The most important mechanic is less obvious than the name itself: a named mob doesn't despawn, just like a tamed animal. Order matters too - a blank name tag straight from a chest does nothing when you click a mob. Anvil first, then click.
How to craft a name tag (recipe since 26.1)
The recipe works in Java Edition from 26.1 and in Bedrock Edition from 26.10. You only need 2 ingredients:
- 1 paper - 3 sugar cane in a row make 3 paper,
- 1 iron, gold or copper nugget - any of the three works.
Put the nugget in the top right slot of the 2x2 grid and the paper in the bottom left: the ingredients have to sit diagonally. The mirrored layout, with the nugget top left and the paper bottom right, works too. The recipe fits a 2x2 grid, so you can craft a name tag right in your inventory, no crafting table needed.
One ingot is 9 nuggets, so 1 iron ingot and 9 paper make 9 name tags. Until 26.1 a librarian charged 20 emeralds for a single name tag. The layout is also shown on the name tag recipe page.
Other places to find a name tag
Crafting is the easiest route today, but a name tag still shows up in chests, on a fishing line and in the stock of a wandering trader. Chest odds are the same in Java and Bedrock Edition.
Mineshafts and dungeons
Chests in minecarts in abandoned mineshafts hold a name tag about 42% of the time, and chests next to spawners in dungeons about 25%. Mineshafts are big and have plenty of chest minecarts, so you pick up name tags while you hunt for ore.
Fishing
A fishing rod can pull up a name tag as treasure, with a chance of about 0.8% per catch. In Java Edition since 1.16, treasure (name tag included) can only be fished up in open water. The Luck of the Sea enchantment raises the treasure chance, so a rod with it finds name tags more often.
Wandering trader instead of the librarian
Until 26.1, a master-level librarian sold a name tag for 20 emeralds. In Java Edition 26.1 that offer was replaced by candles: a red and a yellow one, 3 emeralds each. In Bedrock Edition the name tag left the librarian's trades in 26.10.
The wandering trader, on the other hand, has the name tag in its pool of offers for 1 emerald. Offers are random, so not every trader sells it, and a single trader sells 5 at most.
How to name a mob step by step
The whole thing takes four moves and one experience level.
1. Get a name tag
Craft it from paper and a nugget, find it in a chest, fish it up, or buy it from a wandering trader. The tag is used up on the mob, so you need a separate one for each mob.
2. Place an anvil
A name tag is useless without an anvil. Right-click the anvil and put the name tag in the left slot.
3. Type the name and pay 1 XP level
Click the text field above the slots, type the name and take the finished tag from the right slot. The cost is 1 experience level, even if the slot holds a full stack of 64 name tags - they all get the same name. In Java Edition a name can be up to 50 characters long, in Bedrock Edition up to 30.
4. Right-click the mob
Hold the named tag and right-click the mob you want to name. The name appears above its head right away.
Names and mob despawning
This is the name tag's most important mechanic. A named mob doesn't despawn, meaning the game won't remove it when you walk away - the same as with tamed animals. It helps most with mobs that normally disappear, mainly hostile ones: a zombie villager waiting to be cured or a creeper in a display case won't vanish, even if you come back a week later.
A name also works as a marker in multiplayer. On a server where several players keep animals in the same pen, a named horse or dog tells you right away whose it is.
Easter eggs and special names
A few names trigger hidden effects. Type them exactly as in the table - capitalization matters, and in jeb_ so does the underscore.
Dinnerbone, Grumm and jeb_ are nicknames of Mojang developers. The flip applies to the whole mob together with its gear, so an upside-down zombie in armor looks exactly as absurd as it sounds.
A sheep named jeb_ fades smoothly through every wool color, but that is pure graphics - when you shear it you get wool in the color the sheep really has. You can't flip a rainbow sheep upside down either, because a mob can only have one name. A vindicator named Johnny goes after everything around it, the Wither included - it spares only ghasts and other illagers.
Tips and tricks
An iron, gold or copper ingot gives 9 nuggets, and every nugget plus a piece of paper is 1 name tag. A sugar cane farm and a little ore are enough that you never run out.
Iron, gold and copper tools and armor, chainmail included, smelt into nuggets in a furnace. Instead of tossing spare gear out of your chests, turn it into name tags.
The anvil stays at your base while the name tags travel with you. Prepare a few named tags before an expedition so you don't have to walk back hundreds of blocks just to type a name. A whole stack costs 1 level, but all the tags get the same name.
Tamed animals don't despawn anyway, so a name tag helps most with mobs the game removes: a zombie villager before it is cured, a hostile mob in a display case, or a single mob on a farm.
It's the one mob where a name tag doesn't do what you want. The trader disappears despite its name, and the name tag is gone with it.
An upside-down mob in a glass display case is a server building classic. The name blocks despawning, so the exhibit lasts as long as you like - unless it is a hostile mob and someone switches the difficulty to Peaceful.
In a trading hall, label every villager with its best trade - Mending, Fortune III, Unbreaking III. Instead of clicking through ten villagers one by one, you read the names above their heads.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
How do I get a name tag in Minecraft?
Since version 26.1 the easiest way is to craft one: 1 paper and 1 iron, gold or copper nugget placed diagonally in a 2x2 grid make 1 name tag. Otherwise you can find it in the chests of abandoned mineshafts (about 42%) and dungeons (about 25%), fish it up (about 0.8% per catch) or buy it from a wandering trader for 1 emerald.
Can you craft a name tag on a crafting table?
Yes, since Java Edition 26.1 and Bedrock Edition 26.10. Place 1 iron, gold or copper nugget and 1 paper diagonally in a 2x2 grid - the recipe also works in your inventory. Before that, the name tag had no recipe.
Does the librarian still sell the name tag?
No. Librarians stopped selling the name tag in Java Edition 26.1 and Bedrock Edition 26.10. In Java Edition a master-level librarian now offers a red and a yellow candle for 3 emeralds each instead. You can buy a name tag from a wandering trader, if it rolls that offer.
How do you name a mob with a name tag?
First name the tag itself at an anvil - put it in the left slot, type the text in the field above the slots and pay 1 experience level. Then hold the named tag and right-click the mob. The name appears above its head.
Does a named mob despawn?
No. A mob named with a name tag doesn't despawn, just like tamed animals. The exceptions are the wandering trader, which disappears despite the name, and hostile mobs when you switch the difficulty to Peaceful.
What easter eggs are hidden in name tag names?
The name Dinnerbone or Grumm turns a mob upside down. The name jeb_ makes a sheep cycle through rainbow colors, but shearing it gives you wool in its real color. The name Toast gives a rabbit a special texture. A vindicator named Johnny attacks nearly every mob, except ghasts and other illagers.
Does the name tag work on villagers?
Yes, you name a villager like any other mob. A name above the head is the handiest way to mark traders in a trading hall. Players and the Ender Dragon are the only things you can't name.
Related pages
- Name tag recipe - the crafting grid step by step
- Anvil - where you name the tag
- Wandering trader - can sell a name tag for 1 emerald
- Villager professions - current librarian trades
- Minecraft items and blocks - the full database
- Minecraft mobs - every mob you can name