14874 color-names

A handpicked list of 14874 unique color names from various sources and thousands of user submissions. Try it yourself or read the full list.

The names of color function like a thread attached to a frightfully slender needle, capable of stitching together our most delicate emotions and memories. When the needle hits the target, we feel either pleasure or emathy. Kenya Hara – White

About 📋

The aim of this project is to create as large a list as possible of color names. We've merged various lists, modified the names when there were duplicates with different hex values, and shifted the colors a bit when there were identical colors with different names.

Submit a color via form 🌈 / or twitter 🐦

color count: 14874 🎉

Color distribution 🛰

When coming up with new color names, it is vital to know what spots in a certain color-space are crowded and where there is still room for new colors. For example; Our API returns the closest RGB color to a given HEX value. To avoid that to many colors snap to the same name, we aim to distribute the colors evenly in the color space: Visualization PS: you can choose between different color spaces on the bottom right.

Sources 🗒

• User submissions.
• Wikipedia list of named colors
• CSS/HTML Color Names
• ntc.js
• htmlcsscolor.com
• OSX Crayons
• Crayola Crayon names
• Thailand Weekday Colors
• Chinese Heavenly Creatures Colors
• Traditional Colors of Japan
• Multiple Paint & Print Brand color lists

Installation JS 📦

npm install color-name-list --save

or

yarn add color-name-list

CDN 🌍 JSON, CSV, YML

Experimental API 🃏

https://color-names.herokuapp.com/v1/{{hexvalue without the #}}

ex: curl https://color-names.herokuapp.com/v1/212121,010101,999666

{
  "status": "names for '212121,010101,999666' returned",
  "colors": {
    "#212121": {
      "name": "Lead",
      "hex": "#212121",
      "rgb": {
        "r": 33,
        "g": 33,
        "b": 33
      },
      "isExactMatch": true
   },
   "#010101": // ...
}

Usage JS ⌨

Exact Color

import namedColors from 'color-name-list';

let someColor = namedColors.find(color => color.hex === '#ffffff')
console.log(someColor.name) // => white

let someNamedColor = namedColors.find(color => color.name === 'Eigengrau')
console.log(someColor.hex) // => #16161d

Closest Named Color

Since there are 16581375 possible RGB colors, you might use a library to help you find the the closest named color.

import namedColors from 'color-name-list';
import nearestColor from 'nearest-color';

// create Object needed for
let colors = {};

namedColors.forEach(color => {
  colors[color.name] = color.hex
});

nearestColorName = nearestColor.from(colors);

// get closest named color
nearestColorName('#f1c1d1') // => Fairy Tale

Note: In this example we are using nearest-color. it is not the most accurate method, but by far the quickest since it looks for the nearest RGB neighbor. If you are looking for something visually more accurate, you might use a library returning the color with the closest DeltaE based on the Lab color-space.

Create a new build 🔨

npm install && npm run build

Contributors 🦑

• yxklyx hundreds of names!!
• Syl
• Stephanie Stutz
• Simbiasamba
• Jason Wilson
• Sponsored by Metafizzy Logo 💖

Disclaimer ⚠️

In the process we try to remove all names that are offensive or racist, as well as protect brandnames. As some of the color names come from other lists, it might happen that some bad ones slip in. Please report them, they will be removed as quickly as possible.