Color List Please?

Question

I'm a writer and I often use colors in my descriptions. I was wondering if anyone has a list of color names (not necessarily Crayola ones - As much as I enjoy the witty names, I don't want to describe a sunset as "macaroni and cheese") like azure, vermillion, etc.

If you could group them under headings like "blue" or "red" that would be really helpful (although I understand that doesn't always accurately describe the color).

Answer 1

These are the names and using {red, green, blue} from 0-255 what the color is. I created this years ago, enjoy!

# These are the 72 colors from Crayola crayons, as determined by
# John Thomas at Tektronix
# (taken from http://www.swiss.ai.mit.edu/~jaffer/Color/thomas.txt on
# 2002.09.03, with all the grayN removed).




0 0 0 Black
255 255 255 White
255 0 0 Red
0 255 0 Green
0 0 255 Blue
0 255 255 Cyan
255 0 211 Magenta
255 255 0 Yellow
255 138 0 Orange
159 211 0 GreenYellow
0 255 159 Spring Green
0 138 255 SkyBlue
148 0 211 Violet
255 0 148 VioletRed
105 105 105 DimGray
174 174 174 Gray
174 174 174 Grey
211 211 211 LightGrey
211 211 211 LightGray
105 105 105 DimGrey
199 21 133 MediumVioletRed
114 33 188 BlueViolet
218 107 212 Orchid
172 77 166 MediumOrchid
106 37 102 DarkOrchid
103 7 72 Maroon
76 46 87 Plum
146 62 112 Thistle
171 197 255 LightBlue
61 98 208 MediumBlue
100 149 237 CornflowerBlue
0 0 142 NavyBlue
0 0 142 Navy
12 62 99 MidnightBlue
72 209 204 Turquoise
62 172 181 MediumTurquoise
29 111 117 DarkTurquoise
52 152 202 LightSteelBlue
55 121 153 SteelBlue
126 125 160 CadetBlue
117 134 190 SlateBlue
95 109 154 MediumSlateBlue
51 62 99 DarkSlateBlue
60 64 74 DarkSlateGrey
60 64 74 DarkSlateGray
0 83 0 DarkGreen
79 79 47 DarkOliveGreen
85 192 52 ForestGreen
107 142 35 MediumForestGreen
46 155 28 LimeGreen
60 141 35 MediumSpringGreen
152 255 152 PaleGreen
43 167 112 SeaGreen
27 134 86 MediumSeaGreen
41 171 151 Aquamarine
21 135 118 MediumAquamarine
75 211 0 YellowGreen
254 197 68 Gold
184 134 11 MediumGoldenrod
218 165 32 Goldenrod
229 199 117 Wheat
229 199 117 Wheat
189 167 107 Khaki
176 155 125 Tan
178 143 86 SandyBrown
142 107 35 Sienna
103 67 0 Brown
101 46 46 IndianRed
255 174 185 Pink
248 137 117 Coral
249 109 104 Salmon
226 65 42 OrangeRed
136 18 13 Firebrick


# The following 192 colors are from
# http://www.research.microsoft.com/~hollasch/cgindex/color/colors.txt
# on 2002.09.02. See examples of them at
# http://www.swiss.ai.mit.edu/~jaffer/Color/hollasch.pdf

250 235 215 AntiqueWhite
240 255 255 Azure
255 228 196 Bisque
255 235 205 BlanchedAlmond
255 248 220 Cornsilk
252 230 201 Eggshell
255 250 240 FloralWhite
220 220 220 Gainsboro
248 248 255 GhostWhite
240 255 240 Honeydew
255 255 240 Ivory
230 230 250 Lavender
255 240 245 LavenderBlush
255 250 205 LemonChiffon
250 240 230 Linen
245 255 250 MintCream
255 228 225 MistyRose
255 228 181 Moccasin
255 222 173 NavajoWhite
253 245 230 OldLace
255 239 213 PapayaWhip
255 218 185 PeachPuff
255 245 238 Seashell
255 250 250 Snow
216 191 216 Thistle
252 255 240 TitaniumWhite
245 222 179 Wheat
255 255 255 White
245 245 245 WhiteSmoke
253 248 255 ZincWhite
128 138 135 ColdGrey
105 105 105 DimGrey
192 192 192 Grey
211 211 211 LightGrey
112 128 144 SlateGrey
47 79 79 SlateGreyDark
119 136 153 SlateGreyLight
128 128 105 WarmGrey
0 0 0 Black
41 36 33 IvoryBlack
46 71 59 Lamp Black
227 38 54 AlizarinCrimson
156 102 31 Brick
227 23 13 CadmiumRedDeep
255 127 80 Coral
240 128 128 CoralLight
255 20 147 DeepPink
212 61 26 EnglishRed
178 34 34 Firebrick
227 18 48 GeraniumLake
255 105 180 HotPink
176 23 31 IndianRed
255 160 122 LightSalmon
227 46 48 MadderLakeDeep
176 48 96 Maroon
255 192 203 Pink
255 182 193 PinkLight
135 38 87 Raspberry
255 0 0 Red
227 54 56 RoseMadder
250 128 114 Salmon
255 99 71 Tomato
212 26 31 VenetianRed
163 148 128 Beige
128 42 42 Brown
219 41 41 BrownMadder
135 66 31 BrownOchre
222 184 135 Burlywood
138 54 15 BurntSienna
138 51 36 BurntUmber
210 105 30 Chocolate
115 61 26 DeepOchre
255 125 64 Flesh
255 87 33 FleshOchre
199 120 38 GoldOchre
255 61 13 GreenishUmber
240 230 140 Khaki
189 183 107 KhakiDark
245 245 220 LightBeige
205 133 63 Peru
188 143 143 RosyBrown
199 97 20 RawSienna
115 74 18 RawUmber
94 38 18 Sepia
160 82 45 Sienna
139 69 19 SaddleBrown
244 164 96 SandyBrown
210 180 140 Tan
94 38 5 VanDykeBrown
255 97 3 CadmiumOrange
255 3 13 CadmiumRedLight
237 145 33 Carrot
255 140 0 DarkOrange
150 69 20 MarsOrange
227 112 26 MarsYellow
255 128 0 Orange
255 69 0 OrangeRed
227 130 23 YellowOchre
255 168 36 AureolineYellow
227 207 87 Banana
255 227 3 CadmiumLemon
255 153 18 CadmiumYellow
255 176 15 CadmiumYellowLight
255 215 0 Gold
218 165 32 Goldenrod
184 134 11 GoldenrodDark
250 250 210 GoldenrodLight
238 232 170 GoldenrodPale
238 221 130 LightGoldenrod
227 168 105 Melon
255 168 18 NaplesYellowDeep
255 255 0 Yellow
255 255 224 YellowLight
127 255 0 Chartreuse
102 128 20 ChromeOxideGreen
97 179 41 CinnabarGreen
61 145 64 CobaltGreen
0 201 87 EmeraldGreen
34 139 34 ForestGreen
0 255 0 Green
0 100 0 GreenDark
152 251 152 GreenPale
173 255 47 GreenYellow
124 252 0 LawnGreen
50 205 50 LimeGreen
189 252 201 Mint
59 94 43 Olive
107 142 35 OliveDrab
85 107 47 OliveGreenDark
10 201 43 PermanentGreen
48 128 20 SapGreen
46 139 87 SeaGreen
143 188 143 SeaGreenDark
60 179 113 SeaGreenMedium
32 178 170 SeaGreenLight
0 255 127 SpringGreen
0 250 154 SpringGreenMedium
56 94 15 TerreVerte
110 255 112 ViridianLight
154 205 50 YellowGreen
127 255 212 Aquamarine
102 205 170 AquamarineMedium
0 255 255 Cyan
224 255 255 CyanWhite
64 224 208 Turquoise
0 206 209 TurquoiseDark
72 209 204 TurquoiseMedium
175 238 238 TurquoisePale
240 248 255 AliceBlue
0 0 255 Blue
173 216 230 BlueLight
0 0 205 BlueMedium
95 158 160 Cadet
61 89 171 Cobalt
100 149 237 Cornflower
5 184 204 Cerulean
30 144 255 DodgerBlue
46 8 84 Indigo
3 168 158 ManganeseBlue
25 25 112 MidnightBlue
0 0 128 Navy
51 161 201 Peacock
176 224 230 PowderBlue
65 105 225 RoyalBlue
106 90 205 SlateBlue
72 61 139 SlateBlueDark
132 112 255 SlateBlueLight
123 104 238 SlateBlueMedium
135 206 235 SkyBlue
0 191 255 SkyBlueDeep
135 206 250 SkyBlueLight
70 130 180 SteelBlue
176 196 222 SteelBlueLight
0 199 140 TurquoiseBlue
18 10 143 Ultramarine
138 43 226 BlueViolet
145 33 158 CobaltVioletDeep
255 0 255 Magenta
218 112 214 Orchid
153 50 204 OrchidDark
186 85 211 OrchidMedium

219 38 69 PermanentRedViolet
221 160 221 Plum
160 32 240 Purple
147 112 219 PurpleMedium
92 36 110 UltramarineViolet
143 94 153 Violet
148 0 211 VioletDark
208 32 144 VioletRed
199 21 133 VioletRedMedium
219 112 147 VioletRedPale
#
# From HTML 4.0 specification. These are colors you can specify by name
# in HTML tags.
#
# Actually, these are the colors as if HTML's sRGB values were actually
# Rec. 709. E.g. HTML 4.0 says silver is r=192, g=192, b=192, in the
# SRGB system.
# This file, which by definition contains Rec. 709 values, shows the same
# three numbers (192,192,192). So this file defines a slightly different
# color than HTML does.
#
# There's some extension to HTML, apparently not blessed by W3C, that adds
# all the MIT colors (see above). Internet Explorer can render all of them.

000 000 000 Black
192 192 192 Silver
128 128 128 Gray
255 255 255 White
128 000 000 Maroon
255 000 000 Red
128 000 128 Purple
255 000 255 Fuchsia
000 128 000 Green
000 255 000 Lime
128 128 000 Olive
255 255 000 Yellow
000 000 128 Navy
000 000 255 Blue
000 128 128 Teal
000 255 255 Aqua

# These are from XFree86 rgb.txt ca. 2001. We have extracted the color names
# that aren't already included above and also converted all the names to the
# standard form and eliminated duplicates.
#
# The original file started with this line:
#
#! $XConsortium: rgb.txt,v 10.41 94/02/20 18:39:36 rws Exp $
112 128 144 SlateGray
119 136 153 LightSlateGray
119 136 153 LightSlateGrey
211 211 211 light grey
100 149 237 CornflowerBlue
132 112 255 LightSlateBlue
0 191 255 DeepSkyBlue
135 206 250 LightSkyBlue
175 238 238 PaleTurquoise
224 255 255 LightCyan
143 188 143 DarkSeaGreen
32 178 170 LightSeaGreen
189 183 107 DarkKhaki
238 232 170 PaleGoldenrod
250 250 210 LightGoldenrodYellow
255 255 224 LightYellow
233 150 122 DarkSalmon
240 128 128 LightCoral
255 182 193 LightPink
219 112 147 PaleVioletRed
148 0 211 DarkViolet
147 112 219 MediumPurple
255 250 250 Snow1
238 233 233 Snow2
205 201 201 Snow3
139 137 137 Snow4
255 245 238 Seashell1
238 229 222 Seashell2
205 197 191 Seashell3
139 134 130 Seashell4
255 239 219 AntiqueWhite1
238 223 204 AntiqueWhite2
205 192 176 AntiqueWhite3
139 131 120 AntiqueWhite4
255 228 196 Bisque1
238 213 183 Bisque2
205 183 158 Bisque3
139 125 107 Bisque4
255 218 185 PeachPuff1
238 203 173 PeachPuff2
205 175 149 PeachPuff3
139 119 101 PeachPuff4
255 222 173 NavajoWhite1
238 207 161 NavajoWhite2
205 179 139 NavajoWhite3
139 121 94 NavajoWhite4
255 250 205 LemonChiffon1
238 233 191 LemonChiffon2
205 201 165 LemonChiffon3
139 137 112 LemonChiffon4
255 248 220 Cornsilk1
238 232 205 Cornsilk2
205 200 177 Cornsilk3
139 136 120 Cornsilk4
255 255 240 Ivory1
238 238 224 Ivory2
205 205 193 Ivory3
139 139 131 Ivory4
240 255 240 Honeydew1
224 238 224 Honeydew2
193 205 193 Honeydew3
131 139 131 Honeydew4
255 240 245 LavenderBlush1
238 224 229 LavenderBlush2
205 193 197 LavenderBlush3
139 131 134 LavenderBlush4
255 228 225 MistyRose1
238 213 210 MistyRose2
205 183 181 MistyRose3
139 125 123 MistyRose4
240 255 255 Azure1
224 238 238 Azure2
193 205 205 Azure3
131 139 139 Azure4
131 111 255 SlateBlue1
122 103 238 SlateBlue2
105 89 205 SlateBlue3
71 60 139 SlateBlue4
72 118 255 RoyalBlue1
67 110 238 RoyalBlue2
58 95 205 RoyalBlue3
39 64 139 RoyalBlue4
0 0 255 Blue1
0 0 238 Blue2
0 0 205 Blue3
0 0 139 Blue4
30 144 255 DodgerBlue1
28 134 238 DodgerBlue2
24 116 205 DodgerBlue3
16 78 139 DodgerBlue4
99 184 255 SteelBlue1
92 172 238 SteelBlue2
79 148 205 SteelBlue3
54 100 139 SteelBlue4
0 191 255 DeepSkyBlue1
0 178 238 DeepSkyBlue2
0 154 205 DeepSkyBlue3
0 104 139 DeepSkyBlue4
135 206 255 SkyBlue1
126 192 238 SkyBlue2
108 166 205 SkyBlue3
74 112 139 SkyBlue4
176 226 255 LightSkyBlue1
164 211 238 LightSkyBlue2
141 182 205 LightSkyBlue3
96 123 139 LightSkyBlue4
198 226 255 SlateGray1
185 211 238 SlateGray2
159 182 205 SlateGray3
108 123 139 SlateGray4
202 225 255 LightSteelBlue1
188 210 238 LightSteelBlue2
162 181 205 LightSteelBlue3
110 123 139 LightSteelBlue4
191 239 255 LightBlue1
178 223 238 LightBlue2
154 192 205 LightBlue3
104 131 139 LightBlue4
224 255 255 LightCyan1
209 238 238 LightCyan2
180 205 205 LightCyan3
122 139 139 LightCyan4
187 255 255 PaleTurquoise1
174 238 238 PaleTurquoise2
150 205 205 PaleTurquoise3
102 139 139 PaleTurquoise4
152 245 255 CadetBlue1
142 229 238 CadetBlue2
122 197 205 CadetBlue3
83 134 139 CadetBlue4
0 245 255 Turquoise1
0 229 238 Turquoise2
0 197 205 Turquoise3
0 134 139 Turquoise4
0 255 255 Cyan1
0 238 238 Cyan2
0 205 205 Cyan3
0 139 139 Cyan4
151 255 255 DarkSlateGray1
141 238 238 DarkSlateGray2
121 205 205 DarkSlateGray3
82 139 139 DarkSlateGray4
127 255 212 Aquamarine1
118 238 198 Aquamarine2
102 205 170 Aquamarine3
69 139 116 Aquamarine4
193 255 193 DarkSeaGreen1
180 238 180 DarkSeaGreen2
155 205 155 DarkSeaGreen3
105 139 105 DarkSeaGreen4
84 255 159 SeaGreen1
78 238 148 SeaGreen2
67 205 128 SeaGreen3
46 139 87 SeaGreen4
154 255 154 PaleGreen1
144 238 144 PaleGreen2
124 205 124 PaleGreen3
84 139 84 PaleGreen4
0 255 127 SpringGreen1
0 238 118 SpringGreen2
0 205 102 SpringGreen3
0 139 69 SpringGreen4
0 255 0 Green1
0 238 0 Green2
0 205 0 Green3
0 139 0 Green4
127 255 0 Chartreuse1
118 238 0 Chartreuse2
102 205 0 Chartreuse3
69 139 0 Chartreuse4
192 255 62 OliveDrab1
179 238 58 OliveDrab2
154 205 50 OliveDrab3
105 139 34 OliveDrab4
202 255 112 DarkOliveGreen1
188 238 104 DarkOliveGreen2
162 205 90 DarkOliveGreen3
110 139 61 DarkOliveGreen4
255 246 143 Khaki1
238 230 133 Khaki2
205 198 115 Khaki3
139 134 78 Khaki4
255 236 139 LightGoldenrod1
238 220 130 LightGoldenrod2
205 190 112 LightGoldenrod3
139 129 76 LightGoldenrod4
255 255 224 LightYellow1
238 238 209 LightYellow2
205 205 180 LightYellow3
139 139 122 LightYellow4
255 255 0 Yellow1
238 238 0 Yellow2
205 205 0 Yellow3
139 139 0 Yellow4
255 215 0 Gold1
238 201 0 Gold2
205 173 0 Gold3
139 117 0 Gold4
255 193 37 Goldenrod1
238 180 34 Goldenrod2
205 155 29 Goldenrod3
139 105 20 Goldenrod4
255 185 15 DarkGoldenrod1
238 173 14 DarkGoldenrod2
205 149 12 DarkGoldenrod3
139 101 8 DarkGoldenrod4
255 193 193 RosyBrown1
238 180 180 RosyBrown2
205 155 155 RosyBrown3
139 105 105 RosyBrown4
255 106 106 IndianRed1
238 99 99 IndianRed2
205 85 85 IndianRed3
139 58 58 IndianRed4
255 130 71 Sienna1
238 121 66 Sienna2
205 104 57 Sienna3
139 71 38 Sienna4
255 211 155 Burlywood1
238 197 145 Burlywood2
205 170 125 Burlywood3
139 115 85 Burlywood4
255 231 186 Wheat1
238 216 174 Wheat2
205 186 150 Wheat3
139 126 102 Wheat4
255 165 79 Tan1
238 154 73 Tan2
205 133 63 Tan3
139 90 43 Tan4
255 127 36 Chocolate1
238 118 33 Chocolate2
205 102 29 Chocolate3
139 69 19 Chocolate4
255 48 48 Firebrick1
238 44 44 Firebrick2
205 38 38 Firebrick3
139 26 26 Firebrick4
255 64 64 Brown1
238 59 59 Brown2
205 51 51 Brown3
139 35 35 Brown4
255 140 105 Salmon1
238 130 98 Salmon2
205 112 84 Salmon3
139 76 57 Salmon4
255 160 122 LightSalmon1
238 149 114 LightSalmon2
205 129 98 LightSalmon3
139 87 66 LightSalmon4
255 165 0 Orange1
238 154 0 Orange2
205 133 0 Orange3
139 90 0 Orange4
255 127 0 DarkOrange1
238 118 0 DarkOrange2
205 102 0 DarkOrange3
139 69 0 DarkOrange4
255 114 86 Coral1
238 106 80 Coral2
205 91 69 Coral3
139 62 47 Coral4
255 99 71 Tomato1
238 92 66 Tomato2
205 79 57 Tomato3
139 54 38 Tomato4
255 69 0 OrangeRed1
238 64 0 OrangeRed2
205 55 0 OrangeRed3
139 37 0 OrangeRed4
255 0 0 Red1
238 0 0 Red2
205 0 0 Red3
139 0 0 Red4
255 20 147 DeepPink1
238 18 137 DeepPink2
205 16 118 DeepPink3
139 10 80 DeepPink4
255 110 180 HotPink1
238 106 167 HotPink2
205 96 144 HotPink3
139 58 98 HotPink4
255 181 197 Pink1
238 169 184 Pink2
205 145 158 Pink3
139 99 108 Pink4
255 174 185 LightPink1
238 162 173 LightPink2
205 140 149 LightPink3
139 95 101 LightPink4
255 130 171 PaleVioletRed1
238 121 159 PaleVioletRed2
205 104 137 PaleVioletRed3
139 71 93 PaleVioletRed4
255 52 179 Maroon1
238 48 167 Maroon2
205 41 144 Maroon3
139 28 98 Maroon4
255 62 150 VioletRed1
238 58 140 VioletRed2
205 50 120 VioletRed3
139 34 82 VioletRed4
255 0 255 Magenta1
238 0 238 Magenta2
205 0 205 Magenta3
139 0 139 Magenta4
255 131 250 Orchid1
238 122 233 Orchid2
205 105 201 Orchid3
139 71 137 Orchid4
255 187 255 Plum1
238 174 238 Plum2
205 150 205 Plum3
139 102 139 Plum4
224 102 255 MediumOrchid1
209 95 238 MediumOrchid2
180 82 205 MediumOrchid3
122 55 139 MediumOrchid4
191 62 255 DarkOrchid1
178 58 238 DarkOrchid2
154 50 205 DarkOrchid3
104 34 139 DarkOrchid4
155 48 255 Purple1
145 44 238 Purple2
125 38 205 Purple3
85 26 139 Purple4
171 130 255 MediumPurple1
159 121 238 MediumPurple2
137 104 205 MediumPurple3
93 71 139 MediumPurple4
255 225 255 Thistle1
238 210 238 Thistle2
205 181 205 Thistle3
139 123 139 Thistle4
0 0 0 Gray0
0 0 0 Grey0
3 3 3 Gray1
3 3 3 Grey1
5 5 5 Gray2
5 5 5 Grey2
8 8 8 Gray3
8 8 8 Grey3
10 10 10 Gray4
10 10 10 Grey4
13 13 13 Gray5
13 13 13 Grey5
15 15 15 Gray6
15 15 15 Grey6
18 18 18 Gray7
18 18 18 Grey7
20 20 20 Gray8
20 20 20 Grey8
23 23 23 Gray9
23 23 23 Grey9
26 26 26 Gray10
26 26 26 Grey10
28 28 28 Gray11
28 28 28 Grey11
31 31 31 Gray12
31 31 31 Grey12
33 33 33 Gray13
33 33 33 Grey13
36 36 36 Gray14
36 36 36 Grey14
38 38 38 Gray15
38 38 38 Grey15
41 41 41 Gray16
41 41 41 Grey16
43 43 43 Gray17
43 43 43 Grey17
46 46 46 Gray18
46 46 46 Grey18
48 48 48 Gray19
48 48 48 Grey19
51 51 51 Gray20
51 51 51 Grey20
54 54 54 Gray21
54 54 54 Grey21
56 56 56 Gray22
56 56 56 Grey22
59 59 59 Gray23
59 59 59 Grey23
61 61 61 Gray24
61 61 61 Grey24
64 64 64 Gray25
64 64 64 Grey25
66 66 66 Gray26
66 66 66 Grey26

Answer 2

If you are a writer, may I suggest that you envision the color which you attempt to describe and imagine how the color makes you feel and use the adjective that describes it best. Writing should come from the authors soul.

Answer 3

Go to the art store and pickup the color mixing book for water colors

Answer 4

blue azur
blue diamond
blue haze
misty blue
sad blue
corageous blue

red ablaze
danger red
fire engine red
embarrassingly red
fuchia-red

spring green
apple green
pale green
dirty green

Answer 5

Better yet, invest in a REALLY good thesaurus... you will find synonyms to the "common names" for ordinary colors...

I also write and found a thesaurus to be a tremendous help for this exact thing. :-)

Answer 6

like red Orange yellow green blue purple?