<named-color>

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since July 2015.

The <named-color> CSS data type is the name of a color, such as red, blue, black, or lightseagreen. Syntactically, a <named-color> is an <ident>.

A <named-color> value can be used anywhere a <color> can be used.

Syntax

css

color: red;
color: orange;
color: tan;
color: rebeccapurple;
color: transparent;

Value

Named colors consists of standard colors, the transparent and currentcolor keywords.

Standard colors

Basic colors have standard, easy-to-remember names:

Keyword	RGB hex value	Sample
`black`	`#000000`
`silver`	`#c0c0c0`
`gray`	`#808080`
`white`	`#ffffff`
`maroon`	`#800000`
`red`	`#ff0000`
`purple`	`#800080`
`fuchsia`	`#ff00ff`
`green`	`#008000`
`lime`	`#00ff00`
`olive`	`#808000`
`yellow`	`#ffff00`
`navy`	`#000080`
`blue`	`#0000ff`
`teal`	`#008080`
`aqua`	`#00ffff`

In addition to these 16 colors, about 150 other colors have a keyword associated to them:

Keyword	RGB hex value	Sample
`aliceblue`	`#f0f8ff`
`antiquewhite`	`#faebd7`
`aqua`	`#00ffff`
`aquamarine`	`#7fffd4`
`azure`	`#f0ffff`
`beige`	`#f5f5dc`
`bisque`	`#ffe4c4`
`black`	`#000000`
`blanchedalmond`	`#ffebcd`
`blue`	`#0000ff`
`blueviolet`	`#8a2be2`
`brown`	`#a52a2a`
`burlywood`	`#deb887`
`cadetblue`	`#5f9ea0`
`chartreuse`	`#7fff00`
`chocolate`	`#d2691e`
`coral`	`#ff7f50`
`cornflowerblue`	`#6495ed`
`cornsilk`	`#fff8dc`
`crimson`	`#dc143c`
`cyan`	`#00ffff` (synonym of `aqua`)
`darkblue`	`#00008b`
`darkcyan`	`#008b8b`
`darkgoldenrod`	`#b8860b`
`darkgray`	`#a9a9a9`
`darkgreen`	`#006400`
`darkgrey`	`#a9a9a9`
`darkkhaki`	`#bdb76b`
`darkmagenta`	`#8b008b`
`darkolivegreen`	`#556b2f`
`darkorange`	`#ff8c00`
`darkorchid`	`#9932cc`
`darkred`	`#8b0000`
`darksalmon`	`#e9967a`
`darkseagreen`	`#8fbc8f`
`darkslateblue`	`#483d8b`
`darkslategray`	`#2f4f4f`
`darkslategrey`	`#2f4f4f`
`darkturquoise`	`#00ced1`
`darkviolet`	`#9400d3`
`deeppink`	`#ff1493`
`deepskyblue`	`#00bfff`
`dimgray`	`#696969`
`dimgrey`	`#696969`
`dodgerblue`	`#1e90ff`
`firebrick`	`#b22222`
`floralwhite`	`#fffaf0`
`forestgreen`	`#228b22`
`fuchsia`	`#ff00ff`
`gainsboro`	`#dcdcdc`
`ghostwhite`	`#f8f8ff`
`gold`	`#ffd700`
`goldenrod`	`#daa520`
`gray`	`#808080`
`green`	`#008000`
`greenyellow`	`#adff2f`
`grey`	`#808080` (synonym of `gray`)
`honeydew`	`#f0fff0`
`hotpink`	`#ff69b4`
`indianred`	`#cd5c5c`
`indigo`	`#4b0082`
`ivory`	`#fffff0`
`khaki`	`#f0e68c`
`lavender`	`#e6e6fa`
`lavenderblush`	`#fff0f5`
`lawngreen`	`#7cfc00`
`lemonchiffon`	`#fffacd`
`lightblue`	`#add8e6`
`lightcoral`	`#f08080`
`lightcyan`	`#e0ffff`
`lightgoldenrodyellow`	`#fafad2`
`lightgray`	`#d3d3d3`
`lightgreen`	`#90ee90`
`lightgrey`	`#d3d3d3`
`lightpink`	`#ffb6c1`
`lightsalmon`	`#ffa07a`
`lightseagreen`	`#20b2aa`
`lightskyblue`	`#87cefa`
`lightslategray`	`#778899`
`lightslategrey`	`#778899`
`lightsteelblue`	`#b0c4de`
`lightyellow`	`#ffffe0`
`lime`	`#00ff00`
`limegreen`	`#32cd32`
`linen`	`#faf0e6`
`magenta`	`#ff00ff` (synonym of `fuchsia`)
`maroon`	`#800000`
`mediumaquamarine`	`#66cdaa`
`mediumblue`	`#0000cd`
`mediumorchid`	`#ba55d3`
`mediumpurple`	`#9370db`
`mediumseagreen`	`#3cb371`
`mediumslateblue`	`#7b68ee`
`mediumspringgreen`	`#00fa9a`
`mediumturquoise`	`#48d1cc`
`mediumvioletred`	`#c71585`
`midnightblue`	`#191970`
`mintcream`	`#f5fffa`
`mistyrose`	`#ffe4e1`
`moccasin`	`#ffe4b5`
`navajowhite`	`#ffdead`
`navy`	`#000080`
`oldlace`	`#fdf5e6`
`olive`	`#808000`
`olivedrab`	`#6b8e23`
`orange`	`#ffa500`
`orangered`	`#ff4500`
`orchid`	`#da70d6`
`palegoldenrod`	`#eee8aa`
`palegreen`	`#98fb98`
`paleturquoise`	`#afeeee`
`palevioletred`	`#db7093`
`papayawhip`	`#ffefd5`
`peachpuff`	`#ffdab9`
`peru`	`#cd853f`
`pink`	`#ffc0cb`
`plum`	`#dda0dd`
`powderblue`	`#b0e0e6`
`purple`	`#800080`
`rebeccapurple`	`#663399`
`red`	`#ff0000`
`rosybrown`	`#bc8f8f`
`royalblue`	`#4169e1`
`saddlebrown`	`#8b4513`
`salmon`	`#fa8072`
`sandybrown`	`#f4a460`
`seagreen`	`#2e8b57`
`seashell`	`#fff5ee`
`sienna`	`#a0522d`
`silver`	`#c0c0c0`
`skyblue`	`#87ceeb`
`slateblue`	`#6a5acd`
`slategray`	`#708090`
`slategrey`	`#708090`
`snow`	`#fffafa`
`springgreen`	`#00ff7f`
`steelblue`	`#4682b4`
`tan`	`#d2b48c`
`teal`	`#008080`
`thistle`	`#d8bfd8`
`tomato`	`#ff6347`
`transparent`	See transparent.
`turquoise`	`#40e0d0`
`violet`	`#ee82ee`
`wheat`	`#f5deb3`
`white`	`#ffffff`
`whitesmoke`	`#f5f5f5`
`yellow`	`#ffff00`
`yellowgreen`	`#9acd32`

Initially, in CSS Level 1, only 16 basic colors were defined, with orange added in CSS Level 2. Web designers found this list too short, and browser vendors added numerous names for colors based on the X11 color names. In SVG 1.0, then in CSS Colors Level 3, these names got standardized, formally defined, and made uniform (some had different spellings that are now aliases). They are called extended color keywords, X11 colors, or SVG colors.

In CSS Colors Level 4, an additional color, rebeccapurple was added to honor web pioneer Eric Meyer.

transparent

The transparent keyword represents a fully transparent color. This makes the background behind the colored item completely visible. Technically, transparent is a shortcut for rgb(0 0 0 / 0%).

To prevent unexpected behavior, such as in a <gradient>, the current CSS spec states that transparent should be calculated in the alpha-premultiplied color space. However, be aware that older browsers may treat it as black with an alpha value of 0.

The transparent keyword wasn't a true color in CSS Level 2 (Revision 1). It was a special keyword that could be used instead of a regular <color> value on two CSS properties: background and border. It was essentially added to allow developers to override an inherited solid color. With the advent of alpha channels in CSS Colors Level 3, transparent was redefined as a true color. It can now be used wherever a <color> value can be used.

Description

All names specify a color in the sRGB color space. Although the names more or less describe their respective colors, they are essentially artificial, without a strict rationale behind the terms used.

The color keywords all represent plain, solid colors without transparency.

Several keywords are aliases for each other:

aqua / cyan
fuchsia / magenta
darkgray / darkgrey
darkslategray / darkslategrey
dimgray / dimgrey
lightgray / lightgrey
lightslategray / lightslategrey
gray / grey
slategray / slategrey

Though many keywords have been adapted from X11, their RGB values may differ from the corresponding color on X11 systems since manufacturers sometimes tailor X11 colors to their specific hardware.

Examples

Using named colors

HTML

html

<div id="container">
  <div id="one"></div>
  <div id="two"></div>
  <div id="three"></div>
</div>

CSS

css

#container {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: space-around;
  background-color: darkslateblue;
  padding: 20px;
}

#container > div {
  height: 100px;
  width: 100px;
  margin: 3px;
  border: 2px solid black;
}

#one {
  background-color: red;
}

#two {
  background-color: lavender;
}

#three {
  background-color: transparent;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification
CSS Color Module Level 4 # named-colors

Browser compatibility

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