All name tag Easter eggs in Minecraft (2022)

Minecraft 1.6.1 implemented horses and leads, as well as the titular name tags. These items are incredibly rare to come across, only being found through chest loot or fishing.

Name tags are priceless to players who keep lots of pets in Minecraft. Giving a mob a name using a name tag grants it immunity to being naturally despawned. Hence, this feature is handy for owners of non-tameable in-game pets, such as cows, pigs, chickens, and bats.

With this feature of naming mobs comes a few secrets that not every user knows. Designating a specific mob with a particular name can affect its in-game appearance and behavior.

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There are four name tag Easter eggs in Minecraft 1.19

4) Dinnerbone/Grumm

All mobs (except for the Ender Dragon, Squid, and Glow Squid) can be rendered upside-down if their name is changed to "Dinnerbone" or "Grumm."

This name tag Easter egg is one of the oldest in the game. It was implemented as a nod towards the technical director, Nathan "Dinnerbone" Adams, shortly after name tags were officially added to Minecraft.

His avatar is notoriously always upside-down, so naming a mob after him in-game will mimic the same effect. The mob's behavior, hostile or passive, won't change, as the Easter egg is merely a change in appearance.

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3) Rainbow sheep

Another name tag Easter egg that's been in the game for a long time is the rainbow sheep. This secret is a nod towards the lead creative designer, Jens "jeb_" Bergensten.

Renaming a regular sheep (or its spawn egg) "jeb_" causes it to continuously cycle through all the colors a sheep's wool can be dyed in-game. The effect is merely visual as, if the sheep is sheared, it will drop wool that's the color of the original sheep rather than the color displayed when it was sheared.

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2) Toast

One of the saddest backstories to an in-game secret comes from the name tag Easter egg, "Toast." During the developmental stage of rabbits, a user asked developer Ryan Holtz if he could make an in-game rabbit skin that looked like his girlfriend's lost bunny, Toast.

Now, if gamers name a rabbit (or a rabbit spawn egg) with a name tag called "Toast," its skin will change to resemble the real-life lost bunny as a memorial.

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1) Johnny

Hostile mobs can also have their names changed with a name tag. Notably, if players name a Vindicator "Johnny," it will become hostile to every in-game mob except Ghasts and other Illagers (except Ravagers, which a "Johnny" Vindicator will attack).

This Easter egg is likely a nod at The Shining. The Vindicator wields an ax, similar to how Jack Torrance, the movie's main antagonist, bears an ax in the iconic "here's Johnny" scene.