Since there are millions of colors we can see, it makes sense that we wouldn’t be familiar with all of their names. For most colors, we use the colors of the rainbow and the words “lighter” or “darker” to describe them. Yet, most colors have a name associated with them, even if it’s not universally known.
This article will take a look at some of the most unique color names out there, and it’s unlikely that you’ve heard them before. Even if you do know some of these colors, there are probably thousands of others out there with unfamiliar and unusual names, such as the ones with funny, silly, and weird color names or the worst named colors of all time.
The following 51 color names are so unique that out of context, you might not realize they’re referring to a color. Perhaps some of these colors will appeal to you, and you can use them and their peculiar names in some designs.
1. Phlox
Phlox
Hex: #DF00FF
RGB: 223, 0, 255
Phlox is a type of plant that’s comprised of bunches of small flowers that are found in North America. The flowers can be pink, white, violet, red, or pale blue. The color phlox is named after the pink/purple of some of these flowers.
2. Atrovirens
Atrovirens
Hex: #0D9494
RGB: 13, 148, 148
Atrovirens is also the name of a type of coniferous tree. In Latin, the name means “dark green,” which is the color of the pyramid-shaped plant. However, the color refers to a deep teal instead.
3. Sarcoline
Sarcoline
Hex: #FFDDAA
RGB: 255, 221, 170
The definition of sarcoline is “flesh-colored,” which explains why it’s similar to a pale skin tone. It’s a mix between peach, yellow, and beige. While it works well as a makeup color, it might be a bit unusual on clothing.
4. Eburnean
Eburnean
Hex: #FFFFEE
RGB: 255, 255, 238
Eburnean is a name for something that resembles ivory. It comes from the Latin word eburneus, which has the same meaning. It’s an off-white color that’s created by adding a touch of yellow to white.
5. Feldgrau
Feldgrau
Hex: #4D5D53
RGB: 77, 93, 83
Feldgrau was the official color for military uniforms for the German Army during World War II, and it’s still a common military color today. The name means “field gray” in German, describing the green hue that has hints of gray.
6. Falu
Falu
Hex: #801818
RGB: 128, 24, 24
Falu can be described as deep red or crimson. It’s named after the Swedish city Falun, which is where it originated. Residents of Falun used copper-mining by-products to make red paint of this shade. The color is commonly used for barns in Sweden, Finland, and the Balkans.
7. Smaragdine
Smaragdine
Hex: #4A9976
RGB: 74, 153, 118
This green tone is named after the Latin word for emerald, smaragdus. Yet, the peculiar name isn’t quite as pretty as the gemstone is. A similar shade of green known as emerald won the 2013 Pantone Color of the Year.
8. Watchet
Watchet
Hex: #8FBABC
RGB: 143, 186, 188
Watchet is believed to be named after the town of Watchet in England because the cliffs around it look light blue due to the alabaster rocks. It can be described as a slightly darker sky blue.
9. Fulvous
Fulvous
Hex: #E48400
RGB: 228, 132, 0
Fulvous is a yellow/orange color that’s like tawny or butterscotch. It might come from the Latin word flavus, which means yellow. If you study animals, you might recognize it as the color used to describe some duck species, such as the fulvous whistling duck. However, those birds look more brown than orange.
10. Xanadu
Xanadu
Hex: #738678
RGB: 115, 134, 120
In this context, xanadu describes a gray/green color. Yet, it’s also the name of a Mongolian city and a musical movie that flopped in 1980. It’s the color of some of the beautiful rock carvings in the city of Xanadu, which is more commonly known as Shangdu.
11. Damask
Damask
Hex: #8B5959
RGB: 139, 89, 89
By definition, the color damask is “red/gray.” However, the name can also be used to describe a woven fabric or a damask rose, neither of which directly correlates with the red tone. Darkening the hot pink hue of the rose may give you a color close to damask.
12. Skobeloff
Skobeloff
Hex: #007474
RGB: 0, 116, 116
The name skobeloff is quite a mouthful for a type of teal. It can be described as a dark color of the sea. When you pick out blue-green items, they may actually be skobeloff.
13. Wenge
Wenge
Hex: #645452
RGB: 100, 84, 82
Wenge might be a familiar color name if you were recently furniture shopping because it’s sometimes listed as a table color. It’s a dark brown that’s named after the wood of the endangered millettia laurentii tree in Africa. The color is pronounced “wen-geh,” not “wenj.”
14. Amaranth
Amaranth
Hex: #E52B50
RGB: 229, 43, 80
Amaranth is the name of a perennial plant that shares this red/pink hue. The name comes from the Greek word amarantos. It means “everlasting flower” because tales say the plant grew on Mount Olympus and never died.
15. Vantablack
Vantablack
Hex: #000100
RGB: 0, 1, 0
Vantablack is one of the closest colors to black without being solid black. A group named Surrey NanoSystems created this color to help them with space exploration. A vantablack pigment is the darkest man-made substance in the world because it absorbs almost all visible light. The name is also used for a brand of super-dark coatings.
16. Sinoper
Sinoper
Hex: #BB1111
RGB: 187, 17, 17
Sinoper, also known as sinople, was commonly used by Renaissance artists. In the paintings, the pigment contained an iron-rich mineral known as hematite, which gave the color a rusty red appearance. It originated in Sinop, Turkey, which is where the pigment was first imported from.
17. Zaffre
Zaffre
Hex: #0014A8
RGB: 0, 20, 168
Not only does zaffre sound like sapphire, but it also has a similar color. It’s a dark blue pigment that was used in stain glass during Victorian times. The word zaffre also refers to impure cobalt oxide, which is what was used to give the stained glass its blue hues.
18. Puce
Puce
Hex: #CC8899
RGB: 204, 136, 153
Puce is a mix of purple and brown, which usually ends up with a dull or muddy pink color. Sometimes, it may be represented as red. “Puce” is also the French word for flea, despite fleas being brown. However, like puce, fleas can also be seen as red at times because of the blood they ingest.
19. Smalt
Smalt
Hex: #003399
RGB: 0, 51, 153
Smalt is almost identical to zaffre at first glance. The name comes from blue glass that has the same name. Glass of this color can be created by melting potassium carbonate, silica, and cobalt oxide and fusing them together.
20. Burlywood
Burlywood
Hex: #DEB887
RGB: 222, 184, 135
Burlywood is another color you might see associated with furniture. It describes wood that’s light brown or sand-colored, similar to khaki pants. Burlywood looks great next to its complementary color, light cobalt blue.
21. Verdigris
Verdigris
Hex: #42B3AE
RGB: 66, 179, 174
Verdigris is the color that describes what copper looks like when it naturally oxidizes and turns green, such as how the Statue of Liberty appears today. The color was named in the 14th century after the Anglo-French word, vert de Grece, meaning “green of Greece.” In Ancient Greece, people would purposely seek out this green color by exposing copper plates to hot vinegar when in a sealed container.
22. Titian
Titian
Hex: #B05923
RGB: 176, 89, 35
Titian is a brown/orange color, named after Italian artist Tiziano “Titian” Vecellio. In his paintings from the sixteenth century, he used this color almost every time he painted women’s hair. One example is his “Madonna and Child” painting.
23. Gamboge
Gamboge
Hex: #E49B0F
RGB: 228, 155, 15
Gamboge is a yellow-brown color close to mustard. However, it’s also the name of a similarly-colored pigment from the gum resin of some trees in Europe and Asia. The pigment is often used to dye the robes of Buddhist monks.
24. Cattleya
Cattleya
Hex: #AD4D8C
RGB: 173, 77, 140
This purple hue is named after cattleya orchids, which got their name from William Cattley, a patron of botany. Cattley had an obsession with orchids during the 1700s, and his enthusiasm rubbed off on many people. Some cattleya orchids are this color, but they can also be yellow, lavender, white, and pink.
25. Incarnadine
Incarnadine
Hex: #AA0022
RGB: 170, 0, 34
The name incarnadine comes from the word incarnate, which means “having a bodily form.” Thus, it’s sometimes used to describe a flesh color, but it’s more common as a mix of red and brown. That’s because, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, incarnadine is used to describe something that’s blood-red.
26. Nattier
Nattier
Hex: #9CC2BF
RGB: 156, 194, 191
Nattier is a pale blue color that’s named after Jean-Marc Nattier, a French Rococo artist in the 1700s. He was known for painting portraits, and many of them used this color. His painting nicknamed “Portrait of a Lady in Blue” is one of the most notable pieces.
27. Fandango
Fandango
Hex: #B53389
RGB: 181, 51, 137
While the movie ticket company of the same name has a yellow-orange logo, the color fandango is actually a type of purple/pink. It can be described as a dark version of magenta. It shares the same name as a rhythmic Spanish dance, making it a fun, exciting color to have around.
28. Nacarat
Nacarat
Hex: #FC5D5D
RGB: 252, 93, 93
Nacarat is a pink-orange color. It has been used to dye linens and cloths, and the shade may vary slightly between clothing items. It’s thought to be named after a red flower that was used to create red pigments, but the exact origin is unknown.
29. Limerick
Limerick
Hex: #9DC209
RGB: 157, 194, 9
Most people associate the word limerick with a poem. Yet, it can also be used to describe this light green hue. Like the humorous writing piece, this color is also light and fun.
30. Bistre
Bistre
Hex: #3D2B1F
RGB: 61, 43, 31
Bistre is described as a dark brown color with a hint of gray and yellow. A pigment of this name used to be created from soot. Burning beechwood was the most common way to get soot of this hue.
31. Jonquil
Jonquil
Hex: #F4CA16
RGB: 244, 202, 22
Jonquil is more than just a yellow hue. The color was named after the bright yellow interior of the white jonquil flower. While the yellow on flowers can vary, jonquil is usually associated with a deep, bold yellow.
32. Bole
Bole
Hex: #79443B
RGB: 121, 68, 59
The name bole comes from the Latin word bōlus, which means soft, fine clay or dirt. This reddish-brown hue portrays that meaning perfectly, with a brown color that has some warmth to it.
33. Zomp
Zomp
Hex: #39A78E
RGB: 57, 167, 142
Not only is zomp a fun word to say, but it’s also a fun hue to admire. It’s a mix of green and cyan, making it the perfect balance between playful and peaceful. It’s a color that’s full of life.
34. Catawba
Catawba
Hex: #703642
RGB: 112, 54, 66
Catawba is a variety of grapes. More specifically, it’s an American grape with a red-violet hue. While most people aren’t familiar with the name of this grape, the color Catawba perfectly mimics the color of the fruit.
35. New Car
New Car
Hex: #214FC6
RGB: 33, 79, 198
Most people love everything about a new car, including the shiny exterior and the refreshing smell. Yet, you might not guess that a color called New Car would be bright blue. This hue stands out just like a stylish new car might.
36. Cinereous
Cinereous
Hex: #98817B
RGB: 152, 129, 123
Cinereous is typically described as an ashy gray or a gray mixed with coppery brown. It’s sometimes used to describe an animal’s appearance, such as the cinereous vulture, which has feathers similar to this gray-brown hue.
37. Cornsilk
Cornsilk
Hex: #FFF8DC
RGB: 255, 248, 220
The color cornsilk is a very pale yellow, but the exact shade varies in different situations. It’s named after the silky fibers that hang from the ears of corn, which are usually a much lighter yellow than the corn itself.
38. Byzantium
Byzantium
Hex: #702963
RGB: 112, 41, 99
Byzantium is a color name that has been around since the late 1920s. It’s a shade of dark purple, somewhat similar to the historic pigment known as Tyrian purple.
39. Grullo
Grullo
Hex: #AB977B
RGB: 171, 151, 123
Grullo is a tan-gray color typically used to describe a horse’s coat. Horses of this color usually have grullo fur on their bodies but dark hair on their tails, manes, and legs.
40. Icterine
Icterine
Hex: #FCF55F
RGB: 252, 245, 95
The name icterine comes from the Ancient Greek word ikteros, which means jaundice (the condition that causes yellowing of skin). Today, this light yellow hue is sometimes used to describe bird feathers, such as the faint yellow coloring of the icterine warbler.
41. Patriarch
Patriarch
Hex: #800080
RGB: 128, 0, 128
When you think of the male head of a family, purple probably isn’t the color that comes to mind. Yet, this perfect mix of red and blue is often called patriarch.
42. Stizza
Stizza
Hex: #900910
RGB: 144, 9, 16
Stizza is a dark red shade, similar to the red found on bold lipsticks. This color appears strong and dramatic, but it’s also a fun color name to say out loud.
43. Malachite
Malachite
Hex: #3C7A6E
RGB: 60, 122, 110
Malachite is a mineral composed of copper carbonate hydroxide, which gives it a green/teal hue. So, the color malachite mimics the coloring of this beautiful mineral. However, actual malachite isn’t a solid. Instead, it has bands of varying green shades.
44. Fallow
Fallow
Hex: #C19A6B
RGB: 193, 154, 107
Fallow is believed to be one of the oldest color names in the English language, even though it isn’t frequently used today. It’s a pale brown color that’s similar to sandy soil. It’s also the coat color of a deer species known as the fallow deer.
45. Quercitron
Quercitron
Hex: #F8C300
RGB: 248, 195, 0
Quercitron is a unique color named after a natural yellow dye that can be obtained from the bark of Eastern Black Oak trees. Artists frequently used this dark yellow pigment to add color to their pieces.
46. Bittersweet
Bittersweet
Hex: #FE6F5E
RGB: 254, 111, 94
Bittersweet is more than a flavor; it’s also a soft red-orange color. It’s unclear exactly when this name was first used to describe a color, but it’s likely named after a food, such as berries, that people tasted and thought were both bitter and sweet at the same time.
47. Eigengrau
Eigengrau
Hex: #16161D
RGB: 22, 22, 29
This hard-to-say color name might just look like black, but it’s described as a really dark gray. It’s sometimes called “brain gray” or “brain color” because it’s what our brains perceive when we’re surrounded by complete darkness.
48. Cordovan
Cordovan
Hex: #814141
RGB: 129, 65, 65
Cordovan is a red-brown shade typically used to describe a common leather color. It’s somewhere between burgundy and oxblood since it’s a very deep red.
49. Aubergine
Aubergine
Hex: #472C4C
RGB: 71, 44, 76
Aubergine is another word for eggplant. In North America, eggplant is the more popular term, but aubergine is commonly used in the UK. As you can imagine, aubergine is the same color as the dark purple fruit.
50. Ecru
Ecru
Hex: #C2B280
RGB: 194, 178, 128
Ecru is a shade of beige, but it has been described as a few different colors throughout the years, such as gray-yellow. It’s also the color of unbleached linen.
51. YInMn Blue
YInMn Blue
Hex: #2E5090
RGB: 46, 80, 144
YInMn isn’t a misspelling. It’s a blue pigment that’s made up of the elements Yttrium (Y), Indium (In), Manganese (Mn), and Oxygen (O). The first three elements make up the name YInMn, which is a bold, dark blue color.
Unique Colors Make Unique Designs
If every design used only the colors of the rainbow, life would be repetitive and chaotic. Luckily, there are millions of other colors in the world, including tints, shades, and mixtures of those colors.
Most of the colors we see are ones we’ve never heard of, so we might use them without knowing exactly what they’re called. Now you know a few unique color names that might add an interesting flare to your decorations and art projects.
Can You Guess the Name of These Shades? Take the Color Challenge Quiz.
