Mojang made it much easier to create name tags in Minecraft with updates. In newer versions of the game, players can make a name tag with 1 Paper and 1 Metal Nugget. That means players no longer need to depend only on lucky chest loot, fishing, or villager trades. Here is how name tags work, how to craft one, and how to use it correctly.
 

What is a name tag?

A name tag is an item that lets you give a custom name to a mob in Minecraft. You can use it on animals, villagers, hostile mobs, and many other creatures. Once you name a mob, its name appears above it when you look at it closely.

Name tags are useful because they also stop most mobs from despawning naturally. That is especially important if you want to keep a zombie for an iron farm, save a rare mob, or name a pet that you do not want to lose.

You cannot use a normal name tag on players. You also cannot rename the Ender Dragon this way. For most regular mobs, though, the item works as expected after you prepare it with an anvil.

How to craft a name tag

To craft a name tag in Minecraft, you need 1 Paper and 1 Metal Nugget. The recipe works with any valid metal nugget in supported versions, such as iron, gold, or copper.

• Related: Minecraft paper recipe in 4 steps

You can craft a name tag this way:

1. Get Paper from sugar cane.
2. Get a Metal Nugget from a metal ingot or other source.
3. Open your crafting grid.
4. Place the Paper and Metal Nugget into the grid.
5. Take the name tag from the result slot

Paper is easy to make once you find sugar cane near water. Metal nuggets are also easy to get after your first mining trip.

Why would you need to create a name tag?

You need a name tag when you want to protect a mob from natural despawning or keep your world more organized. For example, you can name a horse, wolf, cat, axolotl, villager, zombie villager, or farm mob. This helps you tell important mobs apart, especially when they look similar.

Name tags also help in technical builds. Many farms use hostile mobs as part of the setup. If that mob despawns, the farm can stop working. A name tag solves that problem in most cases.

How to use a name tag in Minecraft

Crafting the name tag gives you the item, but it does not make it ready for use. You must rename it with an anvil first.

• Related: Minecraft anvil recipe & 5 reasons it's worth the iron

Place the name tag in the anvil, type the name you want, and take the renamed tag. This usually costs 1 experience level. After that, hold the name tag and use it on the mob you want to name.

Once you use the name tag, Minecraft consumes it. You need another name tag if you want to name another mob.

The process is simple:

1. Craft or find a name tag.
2. Place it in an anvil.
3. Type the mob’s name.
4. Take the renamed tag.
5. Use it on the mob.

Make sure you choose the name before you apply it. If you want to change the mob’s name later, you need to use another renamed name tag.

Where to find name tags without crafting

Some players still play older Minecraft versions where name tags cannot be crafted. In those versions, name tags come from exploration, fishing, or trading.

You can often find name tags in loot chests inside places such as dungeons, mineshafts, ancient cities, and woodland mansions. They can also appear through fishing, though this depends on luck. Librarian villagers may also sell name tags at higher trade levels.

Best mobs to name with a name tag

The best mobs to name are the ones you want to keep long term. Pets are the most obvious choice, but name tags also matter in farms and survival projects.

Good mobs to name include:

• Wolves, cats, horses, and parrots
• Villagers and zombie villagers
• Axolotls and rare animals
• Zombies, skeletons, and other farm mobs
• Mobs used in custom builds or adventure maps

A name tag does not protect a mob from danger. A named mob can still die from lava, attacks, fall damage, suffocation, or other hazards. It also may disappear if the game changes difficulty in certain cases, such as hostile mobs on Peaceful mode.