How to Get a Name Tag in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Craft a name tag with 1 paper and 1 nugget of any kind (iron, gold or copper): paper in the bottom-left slot, nugget in the center. Name tags are craftable since the 26.1 update; on older versions you must find them in chests, fishing or trading.

What you need

1 paper + 1 nugget of any kind (crafting, 26.1+)
Or find one: fishing treasure, structure chests, trading (pre-26.1)

Step by step

Craft it (26.1+): 1 paper (from sugar cane) plus 1 nugget of any kind, paper in the bottom-left slot and nugget in the center.
Or fish for one: name tags are a treasure catch with a 0.8% chance per attempt, boosted by Luck of the Sea.
Or loot chests in dungeons, mineshafts, woodland mansions, ancient cities and buried treasure.
Rename the name tag on an anvil: it costs 1 experience level, and renaming a whole stack costs the same 1 level.
Use the renamed tag on a mob. Named mobs never despawn and stop counting toward the mob cap.
Try the easter eggs: jeb_ makes a rainbow sheep, Dinnerbone or Grumm flips a mob upside down, Toast reskins a rabbit, Johnny makes a vindicator attack everything.

Java vs Bedrock

Name tags became craftable in both editions with the 26.1 update (1 paper + any nugget), and the same update removed name tags from librarian trades. On versions before 26.1 they are loot-only: fishing treasure (0.8%), chests in mineshafts, ancient cities, woodland mansions and buried treasure, or master librarian trades. Naming a mob costs 1 experience level on the anvil and prevents it from despawning. The four easter eggs (jeb_, Dinnerbone/Grumm, Toast, Johnny) work in both editions.

Versions: Name tags were added in 1.6.1 (Horse Update) as dungeon loot, became renewable through fishing in 1.7.2, and tradable from librarians in 1.8. Bedrock preview 26.10.25 removed them from librarian trades and ancient city/mansion chests.

Frequently asked questions

Can you craft a name tag in Minecraft?

Yes, since the 26.1 update: 1 paper plus 1 nugget of any kind (iron, gold or copper). Before 26.1 name tags were loot-only, from fishing treasure, structure chests and librarian trades.

How do you use a name tag?

Rename it on an anvil for 1 experience level, then right-click a mob with it. Named mobs never despawn and no longer count toward the mob cap. You can rename a full stack of tags for the same 1 level.

What are the name tag easter eggs?

jeb_ on a sheep cycles its wool through rainbow colors; Dinnerbone or Grumm flips any mob upside down; Toast gives a rabbit a memorial skin; Johnny makes a vindicator attack every mob in sight.

Is there any way to farm name tags?

Yes: craft them from paper and nuggets (26.1+), both infinitely renewable from sugar cane farms and zombie piglin or iron farms. Before 26.1 the only farmable source was fishing with Luck of the Sea III.