Let me share a heart-wrenching tale about my first encounter with an ocelot in Minecraft. One day, while I was reading the patch notes, I discovered that ocelots had recently been introduced to the game. This piqued my interest. Knowing they could be found in jungles, I wasted no time and set off on my adventure. It took me nearly half an hour to spot even one ocelot, and I stumbled upon it quite by chance as it peeked at me from behind a bush.
I approached cautiously and spent some time trailing after it, desperately trying to tame it. However, I got distracted by a melon patch, and when I turned back to the ocelot, it had already wandered far away, rendering all my efforts and hopes futile. If only I had a name tag at that moment, that adorable creature might have been with us today.
Name tags were introduced in Minecraft Pocket Edition version 1.6.1 at the request of Paul Soares Jr. He tweeted asking for “name tags, a potion for underwater breathing, boats for smooth sailing on lava, and a device for interrogating spy chickens.” I think two of those requests are quite reasonable. Previously, name tags could only be found in random chests, but now you can discover them in abandoned mineshafts or woodland mansions. Additionally, you can try your luck fishing for one. There’s another option, though it’s not very favorable: librarians can provide you with a name tag, but you’ll need to pay them a hefty sum of emeralds—around 20-22!
As the title suggests, name tags allow you to give any animal or mob a name of your choice. However, this doesn’t apply to everyone; you can’t name other players or the Ender Dragon. Sure, other players already have names, but what about the Ender Dragon? To spare its feelings, we should come up with an epic story. For instance, if someone utters its true name, a monstrous power will be unleashed, sweeping everything in its path, leaving neither The End nor The Void standing, and even the Nether would turn to dust. Sounds fantastic, right? Let’s tell it that!
You can’t simply right-click a tag on an animal to name it—that would be too easy. First, you need to find an anvil, plus you must have enough XP. Then, using the anvil, rename the tag to whatever you desire. Only after that can you locate the animal/mob, right-click on it, and its new name will appear above it. If you’ve done everything correctly, there shouldn’t be any issues, and the name tag will remain with the entity forever.
Forever? Yes! Animals and mobs in Minecraft Bedrock tend to vanish when you’re not looking—as illustrated in the sad story above. But a named creature won’t disappear unless under certain unusual circumstances. For example, you can name a hostile mob, but it will still vanish if you switch to “peaceful” difficulty.
Want to have some fun? There are several names that have special effects on specific creatures in Minecraft. Let’s see if you can find them all.
After extensive research, I’ve found that no historian has ever written a book on the origins of name tags—so there’s a gap in the market for you historians out there. The earliest evidence of name tags I could find dates back only to World War II when American soldiers began wearing name tags on their uniforms—partly so their clothing could be returned after being removed. This practice became more common during the Korean War, and eventually, armies from other countries adopted it as well.
The most famous real-world name tag is the “Hello, my name is…” sticker, which is often seen at conferences and seminars. The first of these was created in 1959 by C-Line Products and quickly became popular among forgetful people worldwide. Interestingly, this sticker also gained popularity among graffiti artists who use it to mark places quickly without risking getting caught, especially when lacking spray paint.
Not that we’re condoning such behavior. Just make sure to leave your name tags where they belong: on sheep, vines, and chickens.
