Name tag Easter eggs add some levity and amusement to the Minecraft experience. Here are all of the currently active characters.
The incredibly popular sandbox game Minecraft is no stranger to hiding Easter eggs. The developers are notorious for implementing an abundance of holiday-themed Easter eggs around holidays such as Christmas and April 1st. Most of the time, though, these secrets are only available for a short time and are gone after a few days. Others, however, are more likely to remain in the game permanently.
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After Minecraft 1.6.1 came out and name tags were added, the developers realized that they could make permanent Easter eggs by giving name tags to certain mobs. Some mobs, like sheep and rabbits, can change how they look and act based on what they are called. As the player discovers each name tag Easter egg in Minecraft, these little additions add a bit of fun to the world.
As of the latest update, Minecraft 1.19, there are currently four name-tag easter eggs in the game. Here is a list of all available cards and their expected effects. Most have little impact on gameplay but are fun additions.
Johnny (Vindicator)
Numerous players are accustomed to naming their passive or neutral mobs, such as wolves and pigs, so that they do not despawn. However, few players are aware that hostile creatures can be given names (if players dare to get close enough to name them). Although many hostile mobs can be named using name tags, only one has an Easter egg associated with a specific name.
Vindicators are recognized as one of the most formidable hostile mobs in Minecraft. They are one of four hostile mobs belonging to the Illager class, and are arguably the most dangerous of the four. The only weapon that Vindicators wield is a deadly iron axe with which they charge at players. Typically, these powerful hostile mobs will only attack the player when they see them, leaving many passive and neutral mobs alone if they cross paths. If players give a Vindicator the name “Johnny,” it will become hostile to all enemies except Illagers, Zoglins, and Ghasts.
This Easter egg likely references the classic psychological horror film The Shining. Similar to how the main antagonist, Jack Torrence, wields an axe in the iconic “here’s Johnny” scene, Vindicators wield an axe.
Dinnerbone & Grumm (Any Mob)
“Dinnerbone” and “Grumm” are two of the most iconic and well-known name tag Easter eggs in Minecraft. This Easter egg is easily one of the most well-known in the game due to the fact that it was added first. When a player names a mob “Dinnerbone” or “Grumm,” the mob will appear inverted. With the exception of the Ender Dragon, Squid, and Glow Squid, this Easter egg applies to all hostile, passive, and neutral enemies in the game.
The Easter egg is a reference to Nathan “Dinnerbone” Adams, the technical director of Minecraft. The online avatar of the technical director is notoriously inverted, so when mobs are named after him, the same effect will occur in-game. When these names are used, the behavior of all neutral, passive, and hostile creatures will remain unchanged. This Easter egg will affect only their models.
Jeb_ (Sheep)
Another of the game’s most recognizable name tag Easter eggs is the one used to create rainbow sheep. Numerous players have discovered uses for this Easter egg, including the creation of dance floors and visual designs utilizing the sheep’s ever-changing wool color. If players name a full-grown or baby sheep (or its spawn egg) “jeb_,” the wool’s color will change consistently. In particular, the colors will cycle through all of the wool-dyeable hues in Minecraft.
This Waster egg’s name tag is a tribute to one of Minecraft’s developers. In this case, it is Jens “jeb_” Bergensten, the game’s lead creative designer. While the rainbow sheep Easter egg is visually appealing, it serves little purpose in-game. If players shear the rainbow sheep after it has been renamed, the sheep will drop its original color of wool instead of the color that was displayed when it was sheared.
Toast (Rabbit)
Toast has one of the most tragic histories of any in-game Easter egg, let alone one that has been implemented into Minecraft. Until Minecraft 1.8, “The Bountiful Update,” rabbits were not programmed into the game, making them a relatively recent addition compared to other mobs that have been in the game since its inception. Shortly after it was announced that rabbits would be added in the next update, @xyZenTV asked now-former game developer Ryan Holtz if an in-game rabbit skin could be created to resemble Toast, his girlfriend’s lost rabbit.
Ryan Holtz accepted the suggestion, revealing that he had planned to create multiple rabbit skins, similar to those for cats and horses. As a memorial, if players name a rabbit (or a rabbit spawn egg) “Toast,” the bunny’s skin will change to resemble the real-life lost rabbit.