About Color Name Finder

Find the closest CSS named color to any hex (Euclidean in RGB). Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the Color collection.

Use Cases

• Designers finding the closest CSS keyword for a brand hex color
• Frontend devs replacing hex codes with readable named colors in prototypes
• Accessibility testers quickly identifying color names for documentation
• Developers choosing memorable color names for theming and design tokens

Tips

• Enter any hex code to find the closest CSS named color match
• Use the Euclidean distance score to gauge how close the match is
• Try it with brand colors to find memorable CSS color name approximations

Fun Facts

• CSS defines exactly 148 named colors, including 'rebeccapurple' (#663399), added in 2014 as a tribute to Rebecca Meyer, daughter of CSS expert Eric Meyer.
• The original HTML specification (1993) included only 16 named colors inherited from the Windows VGA palette — the full 148 list was standardized in CSS3.
• The Euclidean distance in RGB space is not perceptually uniform — two colors with the same numeric distance can look very different to the human eye.

FAQ

Which color names?

The 147 CSS named colors — from 'aliceblue' to 'yellowgreen'. Standardized in CSS3 and supported everywhere.

How does it find 'closest'?

Euclidean distance in RGB space. Simple and fast. For perceptual closeness (what humans see as 'close'), LAB-space distance would be more accurate.

Why do I care about named colors?

Legacy systems, quick prototypes, and typing-friendly. `color: tomato` reads better than `color: #FF6347` in experimental code.

Are there more than 147 names?

Not standardized. Various browser-specific names ('rebeccapurple' is the only post-2014 addition). The X11 color names are a superset but not universally supported.