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What colour names are supported in HTML?

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How colours are expressed in HTML

Colours can be expressed in HTML either by name or by using a hexadecimal number. The hexadecimal number notation allows the precise quantities of red, green and blue to be specified. The colour is expressed as a six digit hexadecimal number, #RRGGBB. Where 'RR' is the amount of red, between 00 (none) and FF (all), 'GG' is the amount of green and 'BB' the amount of blue.

Thus for example purple could be expressed as either 'purple' or '#800080', for example:

Purple  <span style="color:purple">Purple</span>

or

Purple   <span style="color:#800080">Purple</span>

are equivalent.

Gotcha: Be sure to specify the colour tag using the American spelling of 'color' not the British English spelling of 'colour'.

List of colour names supported

Older browsers (such as Internet Explorer 3) support a much smaller range of names than more modern browsers. All browsers should therefore support these colours:

#000000 black  
#000080 navy  
#0000FF blue  
#008000 green  
#008080 teal  
#00FF00 lime  
#00FFFF aqua  
#800000 maroon  
#800080 purple  
#808000 olive  
#808080 gray  
#C0C0C0 silver  
#FF0000 red  
#FF00FF fuchsia  
#FFFF00 yellow  
#FFFFFF white  

More modern browsers support a much larger range of names:

Ordered by colour name Ordered by colour number
#F0F8FF aliceblue  
#FAEBD7 antiquewhite  
#00FFFF aqua  
#7FFFD4 aquamarine  
#F0FFFF azure  
#F5F5DC beige  
#FFE4C4 bisque  
#000000 black  
#FFEBCD blanchedalmond  
#0000FF blue  
#8A2BE2 blueviolet  
#A52A2A brown  
#DEB887 burlywood  
#5F9EA0 cadetblue  
#7FFF00 chartreuse  
#D2691E chocolate  
#FF7F50 coral  
#6495ED cornflowerblue  
#FFF8DC cornsilk  
#DC143C crimson  
#00FFFF cyan  
#00008B darkblue  
#008B8B darkcyan  
#B8860B darkgoldenrod  
#A9A9A9 darkgray  
#006400 darkgreen  
#BDB76B darkkhaki  
#8B008B darkmagenta  
#556B2F darkolivegreen  
#FF8C00 darkorange  
#9932CC darkorchid  
#8B0000 darkred  
#E9967A darksalmon  
#8FBC8F darkseagreen  
#483D8B darkslateblue  
#2F4F4F darkslategray  
#00CED1 darkturquoise  
#9400D3 darkviolet  
#FF1493 deeppink  
#00BFFF deepskyblue  
#696969 dimgray  
#1E90FF dodgerblue  
#B22222 firebrick  
#FFFAF0 floralwhite  
#228B22 forestgreen  
#FF00FF fuchsia  
#DCDCDC gainsboro  
#F8F8FF ghostwhite  
#FFD700 gold  
#DAA520 goldenrod  
#808080 gray  
#008000 green  
#ADFF2F greenyellow  
#F0FFF0 honeydew  
#FF69B4 hotpink  
#CD5C5C indianred  
#4B0082 indigo  
#FFFFF0 ivory  
#F0E68C khaki  
#E6E6FA lavender  
#FFF0F5 lavenderblush  
#7CFC00 lawngreen  
#FFFACD lemonchiffon  
#ADD8E6 lightblue  
#F08080 lightcoral  
#E0FFFF lightcyan  
#FAFAD2 lightgoldenrodyellow  
#90EE90 lightgreen  
#D3D3D3 lightgrey  
#FFB6C1 lightpink  
#FFA07A lightsalmon  
#20B2AA lightseagreen  
#87CEFA lightskyblue  
#778899 lightslategray  
#B0C4DE lightsteelblue  
#FFFFE0 lightyellow  
#00FF00 lime  
#32CD32 limegreen  
#FAF0E6 linen  
#FF00FF magenta  
#800000 maroon  
#66CDAA mediumaquamarine  
#0000CD mediumblue  
#BA55D3 mediumorchid  
#9370DB mediumpurple  
#3CB371 mediumseagreen  
#7B68EE mediumslateblue  
#00FA9A mediumspringgreen  
#48D1CC mediumturquoise  
#C71585 mediumvioletred  
#191970 midnightblue  
#F5FFFA mintcream  
#FFE4E1 mistyrose  
#FFE4B5 moccasin  
#FFDEAD navajowhite  
#000080 navy  
#FDF5E6 oldlace  
#808000 olive  
#6B8E23 olivedrab  
#FFA500 orange  
#FF4500 orangered  
#DA70D6 orchid  
#EEE8AA palegoldenrod  
#98FB98 palegreen  
#DB7093 palevioletred  
#FFEFD5 papayawhip  
#FFDAB9 peachpuff  
#CD853F peru  
#FFC0CB pink  
#DDA0DD plum  
#B0E0E6 powderblue  
#800080 purple  
#FF0000 red  
#BC8F8F rosybrown  
#4169E1 royalblue  
#8B4513 saddlebrown  
#FA8072 salmon  
#FAA460 sandybrown  
#2E8B57 seagreen  
#FFF5EE seashell  
#A0522D sienna  
#C0C0C0 silver  
#87CEEB skyblue  
#6A5ACD slateblue  
#708090 slategray  
#FFFAFA snow  
#00FF7F springgreen  
#4682B4 steelblue  
#D2B48C tan  
#008080 teal  
#D8BFD8 thistle  
#FF6347 tomato  
#40E0D0 turquoise  
#EE82EE violet  
#F5DEB3 wheat  
#FFFFFF white  
#F5F5F5 whitesmoke  
#FFFF00 yellow  
#9ACD32 yellowgreen  
#000000 black  
#000080 navy  
#00008B darkblue  
#0000CD mediumblue  
#0000FF blue  
#006400 darkgreen  
#008000 green  
#008080 teal  
#008B8B darkcyan  
#00BFFF deepskyblue  
#00CED1 darkturquoise  
#00FA9A mediumspringgreen  
#00FF00 lime  
#00FF7F springgreen  
#00FFFF aqua  
#00FFFF cyan  
#191970 midnightblue  
#1E90FF dodgerblue  
#20B2AA lightseagreen  
#228B22 forestgreen  
#2E8B57 seagreen  
#2F4F4F darkslategray  
#32CD32 limegreen  
#3CB371 mediumseagreen  
#40E0D0 turquoise  
#4169E1 royalblue  
#4682B4 steelblue  
#483D8B darkslateblue  
#48D1CC mediumturquoise  
#4B0082 indigo  
#556B2F darkolivegreen  
#5F9EA0 cadetblue  
#6495ED cornflowerblue  
#66CDAA mediumaquamarine  
#696969 dimgray  
#6A5ACD slateblue  
#6B8E23 olivedrab  
#708090 slategray  
#778899 lightslategray  
#7B68EE mediumslateblue  
#7CFC00 lawngreen  
#7FFF00 chartreuse  
#7FFFD4 aquamarine  
#800000 maroon  
#800080 purple  
#808000 olive  
#808080 gray  
#87CEEB skyblue  
#87CEFA lightskyblue  
#8A2BE2 blueviolet  
#8B0000 darkred  
#8B008B darkmagenta  
#8B4513 saddlebrown  
#8FBC8F darkseagreen  
#90EE90 lightgreen  
#9370DB mediumpurple  
#9400D3 darkviolet  
#98FB98 palegreen  
#9932CC darkorchid  
#9ACD32 yellowgreen  
#A0522D sienna  
#A52A2A brown  
#A9A9A9 darkgray  
#ADD8E6 lightblue  
#ADFF2F greenyellow  
#B0C4DE lightsteelblue  
#B0E0E6 powderblue  
#B22222 firebrick  
#B8860B darkgoldenrod  
#BA55D3 mediumorchid  
#BC8F8F rosybrown  
#BDB76B darkkhaki  
#C0C0C0 silver  
#C71585 mediumvioletred  
#CD5C5C indianred  
#CD853F peru  
#D2691E chocolate  
#D2B48C tan  
#D3D3D3 lightgrey  
#D8BFD8 thistle  
#DA70D6 orchid  
#DAA520 goldenrod  
#DB7093 palevioletred  
#DC143C crimson  
#DCDCDC gainsboro  
#DDA0DD plum  
#DEB887 burlywood  
#E0FFFF lightcyan  
#E6E6FA lavender  
#E9967A darksalmon  
#EE82EE violet  
#EEE8AA palegoldenrod  
#F08080 lightcoral  
#F0E68C khaki  
#F0F8FF aliceblue  
#F0FFF0 honeydew  
#F0FFFF azure  
#F5DEB3 wheat  
#F5F5DC beige  
#F5F5F5 whitesmoke  
#F5FFFA mintcream  
#F8F8FF ghostwhite  
#FA8072 salmon  
#FAA460 sandybrown  
#FAEBD7 antiquewhite  
#FAF0E6 linen  
#FAFAD2 lightgoldenrodyellow  
#FDF5E6 oldlace  
#FF0000 red  
#FF00FF fuchsia  
#FF00FF magenta  
#FF1493 deeppink  
#FF4500 orangered  
#FF6347 tomato  
#FF69B4 hotpink  
#FF7F50 coral  
#FF8C00 darkorange  
#FFA07A lightsalmon  
#FFA500 orange  
#FFB6C1 lightpink  
#FFC0CB pink  
#FFD700 gold  
#FFDAB9 peachpuff  
#FFDEAD navajowhite  
#FFE4B5 moccasin  
#FFE4C4 bisque  
#FFE4E1 mistyrose  
#FFEBCD blanchedalmond  
#FFEFD5 papayawhip  
#FFF0F5 lavenderblush  
#FFF5EE seashell  
#FFF8DC cornsilk  
#FFFACD lemonchiffon  
#FFFAF0 floralwhite  
#FFFAFA snow  
#FFFF00 yellow  
#FFFFE0 lightyellow  
#FFFFF0 ivory  
#FFFFFF white  

If you want to use a colour and have any concerns as to whether your visitor's browser will recognise the name then simply use the colour code instead - for details see either "How colours are expressed in HTML" (above) or "Selecting a colour by colour number" (below).

Selecting a colour by colour number

Colours can be specified by number as well as by name. Use the following control to specify foreground and background colours interactively and see what the result would look like. You can use this with a colour from the colour chart or use it to make your own selections.

Red Green Blue  
Foreground: style="color:#000000"
Sample text: "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." (Genesis 1v27)
Background: style="background-color:#FFFFFF"

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