Black Shades
Did you know that the color black has several different shade variations beyond just gray? Let’s take a look at some shades of black with their names listed as well as their Hex, RGB, and CMYK codes for easy reference, so you know how to find the colors and use them in your website or graphic design.
Abbey
Abbey refers to a color that is warm gray with brownish tints as it is a mixture of both half gray and half brown.
Abbey
Hex #494F55
RGB 73, 79, 85
CMYK 14, 7, 0, 67
Ash Gray
Ash gray is a shade on the lighter spectrum of black that is said to resemble that of ashes, although it may sometimes contain darker black or brown tones.
Ash gray
Hex #666362
RGB 102, 99, 98
CMYK 0, 3, 4, 60
Asphalt
Asphalt refers to a color that is a blend of darker gray and black, and this name comes from asphalt, the black sticky liquid used in roads and walkways.
Asphalt
Hex #0C0404
RGB 12, 4, 4
CMYK 0, 67, 67, 95
Black
Black is a color with the perception that is the absence of the light that stimulates the three color-sensitive cone cells in our eyes, and it is the darkest color you can have.
Black
Hex #000000
RGB 0, 0, 0
CMYK 0, 0, 0, 100
Black Bean
Black bean is a color that is a mixture of dark brown and black, and it gets its name from black beans, also known as black turtle beans.
Black bean
Hex #3D0C02
RGB 61, 12, 2
CMYK 0, 80, 97, 76
Black Cat
Black cat color derives its name from the feline pet and also its similar color tone of medium black hue with brown tones.
Black cat
Hex #413839
RGB 65, 56, 57
CMYK 0, 14, 12, 75
Black Cow
Black cow receives its name from black colored cattle, and the dark tone of the color features some brownish tints.
Black cow
Hex #4C4646
RGB 76, 70, 70
CMYK 0, 8, 8, 70
Black Eel
Black eel color resembles the body of the American eel, and it is more dark gray in tone.
Black eel
Hex #463E3F
RGB 70, 62, 63
CMYK 0, 11, 10, 73
Black Olive
Black olive is a color that stands for the color of black olives, and in the RAL color matching system, it’s simply referred to as “olive”.
Black olive
Hex #3B3C36
RGB 59, 60, 54
CMYK 2, 0, 10, 76
Charcoal
Charcoal color represents that of the dark gray color that comes from burnt wood, otherwise known as common charcoal used for starting fires for warmth, cooking, etc.
Charcoal
Hex #36454F
RGB 54, 69, 79
CMYK 32, 13, 0, 69
Charleston Green
Charleston green color refers to a black color mixed with blue and yellow that originated back during the American Civil War times with its name-sake deriving from Charleston, South Carolina.
Charleston green
Hex #232B2B
RGB 35, 43, 43
CMYK 19, 0, 0, 83
Dark Jungle Green
Dark jungle green is much like a darker version of the jungle green tone that resembles a lush forest setting, yet the color contains far more traces of black than anything else.
Dark jungle green
Hex #1A2421
RGB 26, 36, 33
CMYK 28, 0, 8, 86
Davy’s Gray
Davy’s gray is a color named after the English landscape painter Henry Davy, and it came to be through the combination of carbon black, slate, and iron oxide.
Davy’s gray
Hex #555555
RGB 85, 85, 85
CMYK 0, 0, 0, 67
Dim Gray
Dim gray color is simply known as a darker version of gray.
Dim gray
Hex #696969
RGB 105, 105, 105
CMYK 0, 0, 0, 59
Ebony
Ebony color gets its name from the ebony tree, which is a black/brown hardwood.
Ebony
Hex #555D50
RGB 85, 93, 80
CMYK 9, 0, 14, 64
Eerie Black
Eerie black color comes from a specialty box of Crayola crayons with its influence coming from a spooky, Halloween setting.
Eerie black
Hex #1B1B1B
RGB 27, 27, 27
CMYK 0, 0, 0, 89
Granite
Granite color gets its name from a common type of rock, the gray version, used in home décor for countertops.
Granite
Hex #676767
RGB 103, 103, 103
CMYK 0, 0, 0, 60
Gray
Gray color sits comfortably between both black and white, and because of this, it is known as a more neutral color.
Gray
Hex #808080
RGB 128, 128, 128
CMYK 0, 0, 0, 50
Gray Cloud
Gray cloud is a color that’s a touch lighter than gray, and it largely symbolizes darker, storm-like clouds in the sky.
Gray cloud
Hex #B6B6B4
RGB 182, 182, 180
CMYK 0, 0, 1, 29
Gray Wolf
Gray wolf color refers to one of the many color tones of the fur of gray wolves, and this color tends to consist of some brownish and gray hues.
Gray wolf
Hex #504A4B
RGB 80, 74, 75
CMYK 0, 7, 6, 69
Gunmetal
Gunmetal is a dark gray color that has tints of purples or blues, and it gets its name from gunmetal, a type of bronze alloy material.
Gunmetal
Hex #2C3539
RGB 44, 53, 57
CMYK 23, 7, 0, 78
Iridium
Iridium is a color that’s named from the metallic element iridium, and it is typically a very dark gray tone.
Iridium
Hex #3D3C3A
RGB 61, 60, 58
CMYK 0, 2, 5, 76
Jet
Jet is a color that gets its name from the mineraloid gemstone known as jet, and it’s typically a dark black shade that has undertones of blue, purple, or a combination of the two.
Jet
Hex #343434
RGB 52, 52, 52
CMYK 0, 0, 0, 80
Licorice
Licorice is a color that’s slightly light black in hue, and it receives its name and color tone from licorice candy.
Licorice
Hex #1A1110
RGB 26, 17, 16
CMYK 0, 35, 38, 90
Midnight
Midnight is one of many types of colors bearing the name, but in this case, it can resemble that of a dark midnight sky with undertones of brown.
Midnight
Hex #2B1B17
RGB 43, 27, 23
CMYK 0, 37, 47, 83
Night
Night is a color that takes its name from the darkness of night, and it’s almost as dark as black itself.
Night
Hex #0C090A
RGB 12, 9, 10
CMYK 0, 25, 17, 95
Oil
Oil is a color tone that closely resembles the dark brown/black tone of oil itself.
Oil
Hex #3B3131
RGB 59, 49, 49
CMYK 0, 17, 17, 77
Old Burgundy
Old burgundy is a darker color of burgundy, so it contains some red undertones with predominately black overlays.
Old burgundy
Hex #43302E
RGB 67, 48, 46
CMYK 0, 28, 31, 74
Onyx
Onyx is a color that derives its name from the mineral onyx, and the shade of it is slightly dark black.
Onyx
Hex #353839
RGB 53, 56, 57
CMYK 7, 2, 0, 78
Outer Space
Outer space is a shade that can act as a metaphor to the vast darkness of space.
Outer space
Hex #414A4C
RGB 65, 74, 76
CMYK 14, 3, 0, 70
Raisin Black
Raisin black is a color that receives its name from black raisins thanks to their darker color tone.
Raisin black
Hex #242124
RGB 36, 33, 36
CMYK 0, 8, 0, 86
Smoky Black
Smoky black is a color that takes its name from the color of black smoke, yet it looks only a couple shades lighter than true black.
Smoky black
Hex #100C08
RGB 16, 12, 8
CMYK 0, 25, 50, 94
Taupe
Taupe is a color that stems from dark gray-brown, and this is oftentimes referred to as a “dark taupe” as well.
Taupe
Hex #483C32
RGB 72, 60, 50
CMYK 0, 17, 31, 72
Vampire Gray
Vampire gray is a color between gray and black. It tends to be used in Halloween themed works of art because of its name.
Vampire gray
Hex #565051
RGB 86, 80, 81
CMYK 0, 7, 6, 66
Shades of Black Color
Although black itself is often known to lack any real colors, there are many ways you can transform it so that you have dozens upon dozens of shades of black to play around with.
These colors can also be found in nature. Here’s a visual list of things that are black.
Jacob is the founder of Color Meanings, a blog about color symbolism and design. He is a world-renowned color expert and a recognized leader in understanding how colors affect human emotion and behavior. 