Craftsmanship is an important aspect of Minecraft, but sometimes you will come across items that cannot be crafted. One of these is the name tag, used to name the crowds that appear. This impossible to craft item can come in handy.
In this guide we will go over how to find and use a name tag. Additionally, we’ll be looking at some Easter egg names. There are several mods for Minecraft that allow you to craft badges, however, we are going to talk about the vanilla version of the game.
Where to find a name tag in Minecraft
Name tags are surprisingly rare in the world, and can often be difficult to find. Below, you can read more about the two possible locations where you can find a name tag.
| Structure | biome | Chance to find (in chests) |
|---|---|---|
| Mine shafts | Underground (anywhere in Overworld) | 42.3% |
| Wood manor | Black Forest | 28.3% |
Among these two options, mine shafts are more frequent. They can be found everywhere, rather than in a single biome. Exploring these mine shafts is the best way to find a name tag.
Now let’s see two more methods to get a name tag.
Fish for a name tag
Most often you will catch fish while fishing in a body of water. With an unenchanted cane, you will have an 85% chance of catching a fish, a 10% chance of catching trash, and a 5% chance of catching treasure.
Name tags are classified as treasure when fishing with five other items. This means that you have a a five percent chance of catching a treasure and a one in six chance that it will be a badge.
These chances are not too great, but you can increase them with the Luck enchantment of the sea. This enchantment will increase your luck while fishing. There are three levels to this enchantment, with Luck of the Sea III providing an 11.3% chance of finding treasure. Overall, it’s around a two percent chance of finding a name tag.
Trade with the villagers
The final (and easiest) way to get a badge is to trading with a master level librarian. This is a villager associated with the lectern, who offers trades related to books (enchanted books, inc bag, paper, etc.).
With a master level librarian, you can simply purchase a name tag for 20 emeralds. To increase the level of the villagers, you will have to exchange other items; the more you trade, the higher their level will be.
For more information, be sure to check out our guide on how to trade with villagers.
It’s a very easy way to get badges, but it’s a bit expensive. A great way to bring down villagers’ prices is to turn them into Zombie Villagers and then heal them. This will reduce their overall prices so you don’t have to spend 20 emeralds for a single name tag.
How to use a name tag in Minecraft
To use a name tag you will need to rename it to an anvil which will cost an experience level. Fortunately, you can rename multiple name tags with this single level. If you want a stack of name tags with the same name, it will cost the same amount of experience as renaming just one.
Unnamed name tags cannot be used, so be sure to find an anvil and think of a name.
With your renowned badge, head to any crowd of your choice. Interacting with the crowd while holding the name tag will place the name on the crowd and consume the name tag.
Naming monsters is a great way to personalize your world, but it also has practical uses. Monsters with names will not disappear; this allows you to keep dangerous mobs out without worrying about them disappearing.
You will be able to see the name of your crowd if you are a few blocks away; if you are too far away, the name will not appear. This is useful if you have a lot of mobs in a small space that all have names.
If you happen to be killed by the mob, your death message will display his new name.
Special names you can use in Minecraft
There are several names that have special effects. Let’s take a look at these unique names below. These names have no practical effect in the game, but they are fun Easter eggs.
| name | Who does it apply to? | Effects |
|---|---|---|
| ‘Dinner’ or ‘Grumm’ | Any crowd | The crowd will appear upside down |
| ‘jeb_’ | Sheep | Sheep wool will alternate between all possible wool colors
|
| ‘Toast’ | Rabbit | The rabbit’s skin will change to mimic the rabbit’s coat of a user who has disappeared
|
| ‘Johnny’ | vindicator | The Avenger will be aggressive towards every mob, including the Wither
|
That’s all there is to know about name tags in Minecraft. Don’t forget to explore the woodland mansions and mine shafts to find a few!
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