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You are here: Home / Color Theory / These 240 Unique Color Names Make the Best Color Thesaurus!

These 240 Unique Color Names Make the Best Color Thesaurus!

Updated on: October 20, 2021 by Louise Myers 39 Comments

Cool Color Thesaurus! 240 Colors & Names on an Infographic

Need color names that inspire?

Wish you had a color thesaurus?

If you’re in search of more creative and unique color names than the basic “red” or “blue,” you’re in luck! Here’s a cool color names infographic by Ingrid Sundberg.

I know you love color, so I wanted to share it with you!

She’s come up with 20 different shades of white… as well as

  • 20 shades of tan with names
  • 20 color names for yellow
  • 20 other names for orange color
  • 20 deep, bright, and light red color names
  • 20 shades of pink color names
  • 20 other names for purple color tones
  • 20 blue color shades with names
  • 20 green color names and swatches
  • 20 different brown color names
  • 20 color names for gray shades and tints
  • and 20 blacks – or names for black, anyway! Most appear to be the same inky hue.

240 colors and names in all!

And not the eye-popping, fluorescent, old-school web 1.0 shades of color you’ll find on many sites.

These are pretty and inspiring for creatives, like writers, artists, and fashion designers.

So enjoy!

Ingrid has purple hair – or perhaps I should say amethyst! She’s a YA writer and children’s book illustrator who says:

One of my ongoing word collections is of colors. I love to stop in the paint section of a hardware store and find new names for red or white or yellow.

Having a variety of color names at my fingertips helps me to create specificity in my writing. I can paint a more evocative image in my reader’s mind if I describe a character’s hair as the color of rust or carrot-squash, rather than red.

From The Color Thesaurus by Ingrid Sundberg.

So let’s get evocative with these creative color names!

20 color names for white

20 best color names for white

  1. white
  2. pearl
  3. alabaster
  4. snow
  5. ivory
  6. cream
  7. eggshell
  8. cotton
  9. chiffon
  10. salt
  11. lace
  12. coconut
  13. linen
  14. bone
  15. daisy
  16. powder
  17. frost
  18. porcelain
  19. parchment
  20. rice

20 color names for tan

20 color name ideas for tan

  1. tan
  2. beige
  3. macaroon
  4. hazelwood
  5. granola
  6. oat
  7. eggnog
  8. fawn
  9. sugar cookie
  10. sand
  11. sepia
  12. ltte
  13. oyster
  14. biscotti
  15. parmesan
  16. hazelnut
  17. sandcastle
  18. buttermilk
  19. sand dollar
  20. shortbread

20 color names for yellow

20 fun color names for yellow

  1. yellow
  2. canary
  3. gold
  4. daffodil
  5. flaxen
  6. butter
  7. lemon
  8. mustard
  9. corn
  10. medallion
  11. dandelion
  12. fire
  13. bumblebee
  14. banana
  15. butterscotch
  16. dijon
  17. honey
  18. blonde
  19. pineapple
  20. tuscan sun

Love colors? Check out these 33 Colorful Quotes and Pictures to Energize Your Life

20 color names for orange

20 awesome color names for orange

  1. orange
  2. tangerine
  3. marigold
  4. cider
  5. rust
  6. ginger
  7. tiger
  8. fire
  9. bronze
  10. cantaloupe
  11. apricot
  12. clay
  13. honey
  14. carrot
  15. squash
  16. spice
  17. marmalade
  18. amber
  19. sandstone
  20. yam

20 color names for red

20 great color names for red

  1. red
  2. cherry
  3. rose
  4. jam
  5. merlot
  6. garnet
  7. crimson
  8. ruby
  9. scarlet
  10. wine
  11. brick
  12. apple
  13. mahogany
  14. blood
  15. sangria
  16. berry
  17. currant
  18. blush
  19. candy
  20. lipstick

20 color names for pink

20 prettiest color names for pink

  1. pink
  2. rose
  3. fuchsia
  4. punch
  5. blush
  6. watermelon
  7. flamingo
  8. rouge
  9. salmon
  10. coral
  11. peach
  12. strawberry
  13. rosewood
  14. lemonade
  15. taffy
  16. bubblegum
  17. ballet slipper
  18. crepe
  19. magenta
  20. hot pink

20 color names for purple

20 sophisticated color names for purple

  1. purple
  2. mauve
  3. violet
  4. boysenberry
  5. lavender
  6. plum
  7. magenta
  8. lilac
  9. grape
  10. periwinkle
  11. sangria
  12. eggplant
  13. jam
  14. iris
  15. heather
  16. amethyst
  17. raisin
  18. orchid
  19. mulberry
  20. wine

Lots of baby names in this one! Mauve, Violet, Iris and Heather.

This is my favorite color panel! What’s yours?

READ: What Does Your Favorite Color Say About You?

20 color names for blue

20 cool color names for blue

  1. blue
  2. slate
  3. sky
  4. navy
  5. indigo
  6. cobalt
  7. teal
  8. ocean
  9. peacock
  10. azure
  11. cerulean
  12. lapis
  13. spruce
  14. stone
  15. aegean
  16. berry
  17. denim
  18. admiral
  19. sapphire
  20. arctic

20 color names for green

20 funky color names for green

Some good baby names in here too! My granddaughter is named Fern 🙂

Other good names are Sage, Basil, and Olive.

  1. green
  2. chartreuse
  3. juniper
  4. sage
  5. lime
  6. fern
  7. olive
  8. emerald
  9. pear
  10. moss
  11. shamrock
  12. seafoam
  13. pine
  14. parakeet
  15. mint
  16. seaweed
  17. pickle
  18. pistachio
  19. basil
  20. crocodile

20 color names for brown

20 unique color names for brown

  1. brown
  2. coffee
  3. mocha
  4. peanut
  5. carob
  6. hickory
  7. wood
  8. pecan
  9. walnut
  10. caramel
  11. gingerbread
  12. syrup
  13. chocolate
  14. tortilla
  15. umber
  16. tawny
  17. brunette
  18. cinnamon
  19. penny
  20. cedar

20 color names for grey or gray

20 elegant color names for gray

  1. grey
  2. shadow
  3. graphite
  4. iron
  5. pewter
  6. cloud
  7. silver
  8. smoke
  9. slate
  10. anchor
  11. ash
  12. porpoise
  13. dove
  14. fog
  15. flint
  16. charcoal
  17. pebble
  18. lead
  19. coin
  20. fossil

20 color names for black

20 amazing color names for black

How’s your eye for color? These are definitely hard to differentiate!

  1. black
  2. ebony
  3. crow
  4. charcoal
  5. midnight
  6. ink
  7. raven
  8. oil
  9. grease
  10. onyx
  11. pitch
  12. soot
  13. sable
  14. jet black
  15. coal
  16. metal
  17. obsidian
  18. jade
  19. spider
  20. leather

Color names conclusion and resources

Did you enjoy the color thesaurus?

Check out more popular posts and infographics about color!

Color infographic for personal insights:

Color Personality: Test Yours With This Infographic!

Nine color infographics for business branding:

Business Colors: Here’s How To Choose The Best for YOU

Creative fun for color lovers:

149 FREE Coloring Pages for Kids and Adults

Pin the colorful infographic below and never be at a loss for color names again!

This color thesaurus was originally published September 2015 and updated in 2019 and 2020.

color thesaurus infographic with 240 color names

Filed Under: Color Theory, How-to Graphics Tagged With: color theory, graphic design inspiration, infographics

About Louise Myers

Louise Myers is a graphic design expert whose designs have been featured by Disney, Macy's, WalMart and more. Her straightforward writing style empowers small business owners to make their own graphics for social media success!

Comments

  1. Sian says

    August 31, 2021 at 11:09 AM

    Yeah there’s some lovely color names beautiful ❤❤❤❤💝💝

    Reply
  2. Kathy Lynne says

    August 28, 2021 at 7:37 PM

    Thank you for your great insight and information on this website. I’m learning so much about colors! 🥰

    I came here in hopes of finding inspiration for a name for my new blue eyed kitten. Perhaps you and your readers might have some suggestions for his name? I’ve seen some creative ideas and comments on these pages 😉.

    He is a BLUE 💙 point (like a Himalayan) Exotic Shorthair (like a short haired Persian) male kitten, with big beautiful round BLUE Eyes on his sweet “smooshie” face 💖

    I really appreciate the help with my Blue Boy. He’s as sweet as can be and seems to fit the personality profile for the color blue as well.

    Thanks for your suggestions 😉

    Kindly,
    Kathy

    Reply
  3. Vishakha somani says

    June 30, 2021 at 1:34 PM

    Helped me a lot
    Thank you so much❤😊

    Reply
  4. ashborne says

    May 20, 2021 at 8:21 PM

    Pink name

    Reply
  5. Mia Wilson says

    March 3, 2021 at 11:05 AM

    Super Cool!

    Reply
  6. zaiden says

    January 21, 2021 at 5:25 PM

    i like blue

    Reply
  7. Slawek says

    December 18, 2020 at 2:55 AM

    This so helpful! 🙂

    Reply
    • Louise Myers says

      December 18, 2020 at 8:12 AM

      🙂

      Reply
  8. Johanna says

    December 14, 2020 at 10:58 AM

    What about Taupe? ?

    Reply
    • Louise Myers says

      December 14, 2020 at 5:44 PM

      That’s a tough one because it’s neither gray nor tan 🙂

      Reply
      • Colete says

        December 16, 2020 at 11:28 AM

        also you can maybe add Moon for white?

        Reply
        • Louise Myers says

          December 17, 2020 at 7:51 AM

          Great suggestion!

          Reply
    • Morgan Takala says

      December 5, 2021 at 1:26 AM

      What about Vermillion, one of the best shades of Red? Lol though, most of these helped me plenty in writing my novel on colors.

      Reply
      • Louise Myers says

        December 6, 2021 at 8:42 AM

        Vermillion is a great suggestion. Glad these unique color names helped!

        Reply
  9. Jarymine says

    November 6, 2020 at 4:33 AM

    We started a tradition to wear one color every Friday at school. That’s the only day we get to wear anything other than uniform. I was tasked to look for different colors and I found the perfect list here. Looking forward for every Friday now. Thank you so much for putting up this site and for sharing your thesaurus of colors. 😀

    Reply
    • Louise Myers says

      November 6, 2020 at 10:04 AM

      What a fun idea! Enjoy.

      Reply
  10. John Frost says

    October 7, 2020 at 8:32 AM

    Wow. This just hits the nail on the head. My wife and I do needlepoint and need colors that are close but not the same. This answers our needs exactly. Thank you very much.

    I even got a kiss (haha) when I showed her all of the colors that were alike.

    Thanks again. John

    Reply
  11. LemDog says

    August 2, 2020 at 6:32 PM

    OMG Such great work! I vote for Gummi Green next.

    Reply
    • Louise Myers says

      August 3, 2020 at 7:08 AM

      Sounds good! 😀

      Reply
  12. Benji says

    July 13, 2020 at 6:32 PM

    If only you had hex codes for each colour next to their names..

    Reply
    • Louise Myers says

      July 14, 2020 at 10:27 AM

      What a great idea!

      Reply
  13. Adilah says

    May 11, 2020 at 4:21 PM

    Wow really amazing! I use them for the names of my pets in my games?
    My sister likes them tooo!!

    Reply
    • Louise Myers says

      May 12, 2020 at 9:54 AM

      Great to hear!

      Reply
  14. Kim says

    April 5, 2020 at 3:28 AM

    Maroon

    Reply
  15. Rachel Hanson says

    January 12, 2020 at 12:01 PM

    This is almost the most useful website I have ever been on. Thank you for making it! You did a wonderful Job-Louise Myers!

    Reply
    • Louise Myers says

      January 13, 2020 at 7:43 AM

      Awesome, you are welcome.

      Reply
  16. Traci Moon says

    October 4, 2019 at 9:48 AM

    I absolutely love colors! This article is full of fun names of colors that I like implementing into my website design. Thank you for taking the time to put this article together.

    Reply
  17. Oluwande Towoju says

    August 18, 2019 at 9:18 AM

    which paste or pigment do you add to get various shades and tans of colors?

    I was given the assignment and I have just 48 hours

    I was asked to get NOTHING LESS THAN 120 COLORS (THEIR PIGMENTATION) I MEAN THEIR COMBINATIONS

    Reply
    • Louise Myers says

      August 19, 2019 at 10:01 AM

      Various combinations of orange, white, and some blue, purple or green should work.

      Reply
  18. Cyril Flannigan says

    June 26, 2019 at 1:15 AM

    couldnt find Turquoise

    Reply
    • Louise Myers says

      June 26, 2019 at 9:12 AM

      This page has turquoise: color personality test

      Reply
  19. Carly says

    June 17, 2019 at 1:01 PM

    my best friends name is cloud 🙂

    Reply
    • Louise Myers says

      June 18, 2019 at 8:54 AM

      🙂

      Reply
      • Arwa says

        March 3, 2021 at 11:04 AM

        I like these names they helped

        Reply
  20. Samuel Santibanez says

    April 3, 2019 at 6:15 AM

    This is indeed wonderful. I can use it for my website as well my home decor 😀

    Reply
    • Louise Myers says

      April 3, 2019 at 9:08 AM

      Enjoy!

      Reply
  21. Emily la Grange says

    September 28, 2015 at 8:51 AM

    LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! x

    Reply
    • Louise Myers says

      October 1, 2015 at 9:20 AM

      I’m so glad you like it! I thought it was super cool too 🙂

      Reply
    • Ms Janét Moyle says

      April 17, 2020 at 11:06 PM

      Fantastic thank you

      Reply

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