39 Unique Color Names You Might Not Know

Many fundamental color terms in English—such as red, yellow, and green—are some of the earliest documented words in our language, dating back to the Old English era. However, the color orange is an exception, as it only entered the language after oranges (the fruit) were brought to Britain from Europe during the Middle Ages. Prior to that, what we now call orange was simply referred to as red or yellow (or, more precisely, red-yellow).

Given the vastness of the English language, an extensive collection of terms has been developed, borrowed, and compiled over centuries to describe virtually every conceivable color and shade—from the exact hue of a bear’s ears to the dull green of goose excrement. Below are some fascinatingly named colors you’ve likely never encountered.

1. Australien

The 1897 guide House Decoration features a section on blending oil paints, which includes “a list of new shades for ladies’ dresses,” one of which is australien. Drawing inspiration from the reddish tones of the Australian outback’s rocks and deserts, the term australien was adopted by dressmakers and fashion designers in late Victorian England to describe a rich, deep orange hue.

2. Banan

The shade of a fully ripe banana? That’s banan.

3. Bastard-Amber

Bastard-amber refers to an amber-tinted stage light used in theaters to create a warm, peachy, or pinkish glow on stage. It’s commonly employed to mimic sunlight or simulate the effects of sunrise or sunset.

4. Drake’s-Neck

The drake mentioned here is the male mallard, a duck species widespread in North America, Europe, and Asia. Males boast a shimmering bottle-green head and neck, which inspired the name for a vibrant green dye known as drake’s-neck in the early 1700s.

5. Drunk-Tank Pink

Drunk-tank refers to a vivid pink hue that has been extensively studied for its impact on human behavior. This specific shade—also called Baker-Miller pink, named after the two U.S. Navy officers who developed it—has been shown in various experiments to have a soothing effect, making it a popular choice for use in prisons and police detention cells to promote calmness and reduce aggressive behavior.

6. Flame-of-Burnt-Brandy

As the dyeing industry advanced in the 19th century, enabling the creation of an ever-expanding palette of colors, dressmakers and designers began inventing a variety of imaginative names for the new shades available to them. Flame-of-burnt-brandy was one such name, described in 1821 by a ladies’ magazine as a blend of “lavender grey, pale yellow, and dark lilac.” Other equally vivid names from the same era include dragon’s blood (a deep purplish-red), d’oreille d’ours (a rich brown, literally “bear’s ears”), elephant’s breath (steel gray), and flamme de Vesuve ("the flame of Vesuvius," or the color of molten lava).

7. Gingerline

More than just a term for ginger-like shades, gingerline is often described as a reddish-violet or reddish-brown tone. However, some sources define it as a vibrant orange-yellow. One specific interpretation links it precisely to the color of fully ripened kumquats.

8. Lusty Gallant

Originally, Lusty gallant referred to a lively dance popular in Tudor England. However, by the late 1500s, the name became associated with a soft, coral-like shade of red. The reason for this shift remains unclear, but Elizabethan author William Harrison noted that dressmakers of the time often assigned increasingly whimsical names to fabric colors to attract buyers. In his 1577 work, Description of England, Harrison listed several “hues devised to please fantastical heads,” including “gooseturd green, pease-porridge tawny, popinjay blue, lusty-gallant, [and] the-devil-in-the-head.”

9. Nattier

Jean-Marc Nattier (1685-1766), a French Rococo painter, gained fame for his portraits of women from Louis XV’s court, often depicted as figures from Greek mythology. Although immensely popular in his time—his contemporaries admired his work so much that they jokingly claimed he used makeup instead of paint—Nattier is less recognized today. However, his legacy endures in the name of a rich slate-blue hue he frequently used, most notably in his portrait of The Comtesse de Tillières (1750), famously known as “The Lady in Blue.”

10. Pervenche

The term Pervenche originates from French, referring to periwinkle, and was adopted into English during the 19th century to describe the vibrant hue of periwinkle blossoms.

11. Sang-de-Boeuf

Not surprisingly, sang-de-boeuf, meaning “oxblood,” refers to a deep red hue originally derived from a blood-colored pottery glaze created using copper. While the term sang-de-boeuf only emerged in the late 19th century, the method for producing oxblood glazes traces back as early as the 1200s in China.

12. Sinoper

Favored by Renaissance painters, sinoper or sinople was a pigment made from hematite, an iron-based mineral that imparted a vibrant rust-red tone. Its name originates from Sinop, a Turkish town on the Black Sea, which was the source of its introduction to Europe during the late medieval period.

13. Verditer

Verditer historically refers to verdigris, the greenish patina that forms on copper and brass, and also denotes a blue-green pigment originating in the 16th century. Derived from the French term verte-de-terre, meaning “green of the earth,” the name is now associated with the vivid turquoise plumage of the verditer flycatcher, a bird native to the Himalayan region.

14. Watchet

Watchet describes a soft, pale blue shade. Folklore suggests the color is named after Watchet, a coastal town in Somerset, England, where alabaster-rich cliffs give off a pale blue hue. However, it is more probable that the term watchet stems from waiss, an ancient Belgian-French word for royal blue.

15. Zaffre

Zaffre refers to an age-old blue pigment created by smelting cobalt ores. The term entered English from the Italian zaffera in the 17th century, tracing its roots back to the Latin word for “sapphire.”

16. Puke

Even goose-turd green pales in comparison to the unappealing name of the color “puke.” Fortunately, it has no connection to vomit. In the 1500s, puke was a luxurious wool fabric used for gowns and stockings. The term later described the dye color of these items, though its exact shade was never clearly defined.

In the 1530s, scholar Thomas Elyot described it as “between russet and black.” Later, linguist John Florio referred to it as “a deep dark purple or puke color,” indicating a dark tone. The inconsistency likely stemmed from the lack of standardization in 16th-century dye production. The exact shade Shakespeare envisioned when referencing a “puke stocking” in Henry IV Part 1 remains a mystery.

17. Incarnadine

Shakespeare’s mention of incarnadine in Macbeth is distinctly clear. In Act 2, Scene 2, Macbeth declares [PDF]:

“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this bloodClean from my hand? No, this my hand will ratherThe multitudinous seas incarnadine,Making the green one red.”

Essentially, the blood on his hands is so abundant that it could dye the ocean red. However, there’s a slight issue with the verb incarnadine in this context: at the time, it didn’t mean to stain something blood-red. Instead, it referred to coloring something flesh-toned, particularly the light pink hue of Caucasian skin. Imagine the shade of carnations.

Shakespeare altered the meaning to align with his narrative or perhaps to fit the rhythm of iambic pentameter. Regardless, his influence was so profound that since Macbeth, the word incarnadine has been linked to the color of blood.

18. Filemot

The muted brown or yellowish-brown shade resembling a dead leaf is known as “filemot,” derived from the French phrase feuille morte, which translates to “dead leaf.”

19. Coquelicot

Some color names have been directly borrowed from French without alteration. Coquelicot, meaning “poppy,” refers to the bright orange-red hue of a poppy blossom.

20. Eau-de-Nil

A shade that captivated Western fashion and interior design in the early to mid-20th century was eau-de-Nil, French for “water of the Nile.” As Katy Kelleher noted in The Paris Review, it’s “a complex color to define precisely. It’s a light greenish tone, richer than celadon yet less gray than sage, with warm undertones and a cool bluish tint.”

Notable instances of this color appear in Alfred Hitchcock’s films. Costume designer Edith Head adorned Grace Kelly in an eau-de-Nil suit in Rear Window and later used the same hue for Tippi Hedren in The Birds.

21. Rufous

In the 1780s, naturalist John Latham used the term “rufous” to describe species with a brownish-red or rust-like hue. The word originates from rufus, a Latin term for red, often associated with red-haired tones.

Latham was the first recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary to use the Anglicized form, but the practice of labeling wildlife as “rufous” continued. Today, we have the rufous hummingbird, the rufous rat kangaroo, and numerous other rufous-colored creatures.

22. Glaucous

Early naturalists often added an o to Latin color terms to create new English adjectives. Glaucus evolved into glaucous, commonly used to depict a soft, grayish blue or green—similar to the frosted or powdery layer found on grapes and other fruits.

23. Fulvous

Fulvus transformed into fulvous, defined by Merriam-Webster as a “muted brownish yellow.” Imagine the tawny shade of a lion’s fur.

24. Wenge

Wenge refers to a deep, dark brown shade, specifically resembling the wood of the Millettia laurentii, a legume tree indigenous to Central Africa. Wenge wood is renowned for its strength and ability to resist termites.

25. Melichrous

Why describe a honey-toned object as “honey-colored” when you can use the term “melichrous”? In Greek, meli translates to “honey.”

26. Xanadu

You might recognize Xanadu as the title of a surreal 1980 musical film featuring Olivia Newton-John or as the poetic name Samuel Taylor Coleridge gave to the Mongol city Shangdu in his poem “Kubla Khan.” Xanadu also refers to a muted grayish-green shade—perhaps not what one envisions for a “stately pleasure-dome.”

27. Feldgrau

Grayish-green proves to be an excellent choice for military attire. Feldgrau, meaning “field gray” in German, refers to the color used in 20th-century German army uniforms.

28. Phlox

To botanists, phlox refers to a genus encompassing over 60 plant species, some of which display vibrant pink and purple blossoms. To artists, phlox denotes a strikingly bright shade often called “psychedelic purple,” a staple for tie-dye designs. You can even find a 12-hour silent YouTube video featuring a blank screen in the color phlox.

29. Vinaceous

Vinaceous is a term that allows for some flexibility, simply meaning “the color of red wine.” Somewhere, a sommelier is likely cringing at such a broad description.

30. Solferino

Some colors derive their names from geographical locations. Solferino, a town in Lombardy, Italy, inspired the name of a purple-red dye discovered shortly after the Battle of Solferino—a pivotal moment in Italy’s second war for independence. Interestingly, Magenta was also named after the Battle of Magenta from the same war.

31. Falu Red

While driving through Sweden, if you spot a red barn, that shade is often referred to as falu. It takes its name from Falun, a Swedish city renowned for its historic copper mines. The mining byproducts were repurposed, mixed with linseed oil to create a rustic red paint that remains a hallmark of countryside aesthetics.

32. Labrador Blue

Labrador, Canada, is not only the namesake of a popular dog breed but also the origin of Labrador blue, a subdued grayish-blue linked to labradorite—a feldspar mineral known for its occasional iridescence, first discovered in the area.

33. Isabella

Isabella or isabelline refers to a pale yellowish-brown, grayish-yellow, or similar muted neutral tone. The name likely honors someone named Isabelle or Isabella, though the exact individual remains a mystery.

In the early 19th century, British scholar Isaac D’Israeli claimed the name honored Isabella Clara Eugenia, archduchess of Austria and co-ruler of the Spanish Netherlands with her husband, Archduke Albert VII. Legend has it that Isabella vowed not to change her undergarments until her husband captured the city of Ostend in present-day Belgium. The siege lasted from 1601 to 1604—an astonishing three years.

As D’Israeli noted, “the presumed hue of the archduchess’s undergarments inspired a fashionable shade, known as l’Isabeau, or Isabella; a sort of dingy whitish-yellow.”

The Oxford English Dictionary highlights that this theory is “chronologically impossible,” as the first recorded mention of Isabella-colored clothing appeared a year before the siege even started.

Another suggestion is that Isabella I of Castile sparked the trend by refusing to change her undergarments during the 1491 siege of Granada.

Alternatively, the color might have been inspired by Isabella of Castile’s fondness for horses, especially those with pale coats. The idea of two royal Isabellas neglecting hygiene for their causes seems unlikely—and frankly, unappealing. Let’s lean toward the horse enthusiast theory.

34. Banan-Appeal

What term would you use for the soft yellow hue found on the inner layer of a banana peel? Benjamin Moore, the paint company, named it “Banan-Appeal.”

35. Sarcoline

Sarcoline translates to “flesh-colored.” While sarcoline high heels can elongate your legs, a sarcoline leather jacket might evoke memories of Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs.

36. Smaragdine

Smaragdine, a vibrant green shade, derives from a 13th-century Middle English term for emerald. It was honored as the Pantone Color of the Year in 2013.

37. Mikado

This term can denote a Japanese emperor, a Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera, or a vibrant yellow shade.

38. Eburnean

An eburnean object is as white as ivory, though ivory itself isn’t purely white—it carries a faint yellowish tint.

39. Amaranth

The rose-red shade of amaranth might describe plants from the Amaranthus genus, known for their clusters of purplish-red blooms. The term likely originates from the Greek amarantos, referencing a mythical, eternal flower.

This story merges lists from 2014 and 2015 with the transcript of an episode of The List Show on YouTube.