You can craft name tags in Minecraft now—but only in the newest 2026 versions and snapshots. Earlier versions still do not let you craft them and you must find or trade for them instead.

Quick Scoop: Short Answer

  • In older / current mainstream versions up to 1.21 :
    You cannot craft name tags; you must find them in chests, fish them up, or trade with a Librarian villager.
  • In new 2026 test builds (Minecraft “26 snapshot 2” / early 2026 update) :
    A crafting recipe was added : combine 1 paper + 1 metal nugget (iron, gold, or copper) in a specific pattern to craft a name tag.

So whether you can craft them right now depends on which version you’re playing.

How Name Tags Work in Most Versions

In the main Java/Bedrock releases up through late 2025, name tags are an item you cannot normally craft.

You typically get them by:

  • Loot chests in structures
    • Dungeons / monster rooms
    • Mineshafts
    • Ancient Cities
    • Woodland Mansions
  • Villager trading
    • High-level Librarian villagers can sell a name tag for around 20 emeralds.
  • Fishing
    • With a fishing rod, especially with Luck of the Sea, you have a chance to fish up a name tag as a “treasure” item.

Because there’s no recipe in those versions, many forum discussions and guides still say “you can’t craft name tags in Minecraft,” and they’re correct for the versions they’re talking about.

New 2026 Recipe (Snapshots / Latest Builds)

Very recently, an experimental / new update for 2026 added an official crafting recipe for name tags in certain builds.

From those guides:

  • The recipe works in both Java and Bedrock in the relevant 2026 versions.
  • You need:
    • 1 paper
    • 1 nugget of iron, gold, or copper
  • The crafting pattern:
    • Paper in the bottom-left slot
    • Nugget in the top-right slot
    • Other positions empty; different placements don’t work.

You can use:

  • A normal crafting table , or
  • Your 2×2 inventory crafting grid , as long as you match that diagonal pattern.

This change is why some very recent YouTube videos and forum posts now say “yes, you can craft name tags.” They’re talking about the new snapshot / update , not the older mainstream versions.

Typical Player Confusion (What Forums Are Saying)

On forums, you’ll see two main viewpoints :

  • “You can’t craft name tags at all.”
    • These posts are usually from older versions or people who haven’t touched the 2026 builds yet, and they emphasize exploring, fishing, or trading as the only ways.
  • “There is a recipe now.”
    • Newer posts and videos reference the 2026 update, explaining the paper + nugget recipe and showing it working across platforms.

There are also jokey ‘fake recipes’ in discussions where people propose absurd ingredients (warden heads, rare blocks, etc.) as a meme, which are not real in-game recipes —they’re just jokes.

How to Actually Use a Name Tag

Once you have a name tag (crafted in new builds or found/traded in older ones), you still need to prepare it:

  1. Use an anvil
    • Put the name tag in the anvil UI.
    • Type the name you want (you can even use color codes in some setups to get colored names).
  1. Apply it to a mob
    • Hold the renamed tag in your hand.
    • Right-click (or interact button) on the mob you want to name.

Players often use this for:

  • Pets (wolves, cats, horses)
  • Friendly or decorative mobs
  • Joke names or Easter eggs—like calling a zombie “Bob” or “Steve” and keeping it as a weird roommate.

Quick HTML Table: Can You Craft Them?

Here’s a compact view in HTML, as requested:

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Version / Build</th>
      <th>Can You Craft Name Tags?</th>
      <th>How You Get Them</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Java & Bedrock (older releases up to ~1.21)</td>
      <td>No</td>
      <td>Chest loot, Librarian trades, fishing only [web:5][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>2026 snapshot / early update (“26 snapshot 2” etc.)</td>
      <td>Yes</td>
      <td>Craft with 1 paper + 1 metal nugget (iron/gold/copper) in diagonal pattern; plus all older methods still work [web:3]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Bottom Line

  • If you’re on a standard release from before the 2026 update , the answer to “can you craft name tags in Minecraft?” is no —you must find, fish, or trade them.
  • If you’ve opted into the latest 2026 builds , then yes, you can craft them with paper + nugget.

If you tell me which platform and version you’re playing (Java/Bedrock and version number), I can tell you exactly whether crafting works for you right now.

Meta description (SEO):
Wondering “can you craft name tags in Minecraft”? In older versions you can’t craft them at all, but the latest 2026 builds finally add a simple paper

  • nugget recipe, alongside classic loot, fishing, and villager trade methods.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.