Where to Find Name Tags in Minecraft (2023)

Having a name tag in Minecraft comes with several different practical uses and for-fun uses. You can, of course, name your animals and nearby mobs whatever you’d like, but anything you name won’t ever despawn (as long as it could despawn beforehand). Especially for getting zombie villagers to trade with, that’s insanely useful. How you can get these name tags can be a little more complicated though. Here’s where to find name tags in Minecraft.

Where Do Name Tags Spawn in Minecraft?

Like most items in Minecraft, a name tag can be found in numerous ways. Crafting is unfortunately not one of those ways, but you can still find plenty of name tags through other means. By far the easiest way is to fish for name tags, which have a small chance of being fished up among other items. We’d suggest waiting until it rains, as you’ll be able to get more drops in less time through this method. Another good method is trading, with master-level Librarian villagers offering name tags for 20 emeralds (which is a little expensive).

A much better way is through chests found in structures, though the chances of getting a name tag in chests depend on what version of Minecraft you’re playing. Luckily, we’ve provided those drop rates below courtesy of the Minecraft wiki:

• Java Edition
  • Dungeon: 27.9%
  • Mineshaft: 42.3%
  • Ancient City: 16.1%
  • Woodland Mansion: 28.3%
• Bedrock Edition
  • Dungeon: 28.3%
  • Mineshaft: 42.3%
  • Ancient City: 16.1%
  • Buried Treasure: 34.3%
  • Woodland Mansion: 27.9%

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The reasoning for these differences in chance isn’t entirely clear, but regardless, those on Bedrock get one extra method of finding name tags over Java. Provided you’re checking these places while doing other things, chances are you’ll find a ton of name tags in no time.