After the release of Minecraft 1.6.1 and the subsequent inclusion of name tags, the developers saw an opportunity to create lasting Easter eggs in the form of using name tags on certain mobs. Naming certain mobs, such as sheep and rabbits, specific names can affect the mob’s in-game appearance and behavior. These little extras add a bit of fun to the player’s world as they discover each name tag Easter egg in Minecraft.
Currently, there are four name tag easter eggs in the game as of the latest update, Minecraft 1.19. Here’s a list of each one available, and what players can expect them to do. Most have little gameplay usage, but make for a fun addition.
Johnny (Vindicator)
Many players are used to naming their passive or neutral mobs, such as wolves and pigs, with name tags in order to prevent them from despawning. However, few players realize that hostile mobs can also be named (if players dare to get close enough to name them). Although many hostile mobs can be given names using name tags, only one of them has an Easter egg attached to a specific name.
Vindicators are known for being one of the most powerful hostile mobs in Minecraft. They’re one of four hostile mobs in the Illager class and debatably the most lethal out of the four of them. Vindicators run toward players wielding nothing but an iron axe that deals a deadly amount of damage. Normally, these powerful hostile mobs only attack the player on sight, leaving many passive and neutral mobs alone if they cross paths. If players name a Vindicator “Johnny,” it will become hostile to every in-game mob except other Illagers, Zoglins, and Ghasts.
This Easter egg is likely a nod towards the psychological horror classic The Shining. Vindicators wield an axe similar to how the main antagonist, Jack Torrence, wields an axe in the iconic “here’s Johnny” scene.
Dinnerbone & Grumm (Any Mob)
Some of the most iconic and well-known name tag Easter eggs in Minecraft are “Dinnerbone” and “Grumm.” This Easter egg is easily one of the best-known in the game solely because it was the first to be added. When players name a mob either “Dinnerbone” or “Grumm,” the mob will be rendered upside-down. This name tag Easter egg applies to all hostile, passive, and neutral mobs in the game, excluding the Ender Dragon, Squid, and Glow Squid.
The Easter egg is a nod towards the technical director of Minecraft, Nathan “Dinnerbone” Adams. The technical director’s online avatar is notoriously upside-down, so when mobs are named after him, in-game it will mimic the same effect. The behavior of all neutral, passive, and hostile mobs will remain the same when these names are used. Only their models will be affected by the Easter egg.
Jeb_ (Sheep)
Another one of the most well-known name tag Easter eggs in the game is the one used to create rainbow sheep. Many players have found uses for this rainbow sheep Easter egg, such as creating dance floors and visual designs utilizing the sheep’s continuously changing wool color. If players name a full-grown or baby sheep (or its spawn egg) “jeb_,” the color of the sheep’s wool will consistently change. Specifically, the colors will cycle through each of the colors that woolcan be dyed in Minecraft.
This name tag Waster egg is a nod towards one of Minecraft’s developers. In this case, it’s the game’s lead creative designer, Jens “jeb_” Bergensten. Although the rainbow sheep Easter egg is visually cool, it has little practical use in-game. If players shear the rainbow sheep after it’s been renamed, it will drop the sheep’s original color of wool rather than the color of wool that was displayed when it was sheared.
Toast (Rabbit)
“Toast” has, without a doubt, one of the saddest backstories to an in-game Easter egg, never mind one that’s been implemented into Minecraft. Rabbits weren’t programmed into the game until Minecraft 1.8, “The Bountiful Update,” making them a somewhat recent addition compared to other mobs that have been around since the very beginning. Shortly after rabbits were revealed to be coming in the next update, Twitter user @xyZenTV asked now-former game developed Ryan Holtz if the devs could make an in-game rabbit skin resembling his girlfriend’s lost rabbit, Toast.
Ryan Holtz accepted the suggestion, revealing in the process that he’d planned to make multiple skins for the rabbits, similar to cats and horses. Now, if players name a rabbit (or a rabbit spawn egg) “Toast,” it will change the bunny’s skin to resemble the real-life lost rabbit as a memorial.
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