<named-color>

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

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also

  • <color>: the data type of whose definition <named-color> is a constituent part.