Shades of brown

Shades of brown can be produced by combining red, yellow, and black[1] pigments, or by a combination of orange and black—as can be seen in the color box at right. In the RGB color model used to create all the colors on computer and television screens, brown is made by combining red and green light at different intensities. Brown color names are often not very precise, and some shades, such as beige, can refer to lighter shades of yellow and red rather than darker ones. The commonality is that such colors are less saturated than colors perceived to be orange. Browns are usually described as light or dark, reddish, yellowish, or gray-brown. There are no standardized names for shades of brown; the same shade may have different names on different color lists, and sometimes the one name (such as beige or puce) can refer to several very different colors. The X11 color list of web colors lists seventeen different shades of brown, but the complete list of browns is much longer.

Brown
 
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#964B00
sRGBB (r, g, b)(150, 75, 0)
HSV (h, s, v)(30°, 100%, 59%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(40, 72, 31°)
Source[Unsourced]
ISCC–NBS descriptorStrong brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)
Some shades of Brown
Red Brown (X11) 
Pale Brown 
Medium Brown 
Dark Brown 
Light Brown 

Brown colors are usually desaturated shades of reds, oranges, and yellows which are created on computer and television screens using the RGB color model and in printing with the CMYK color model. Browns can also be created by mixing two complementary colors from the RYB color model (combining all three primary colors). In theory, such combinations should produce black, but produce brown because most commercially available blue pigments tend to be comparatively weaker; the stronger red and yellow colors prevail, thus creating the following tones. Below is a list of some of the common brown colors.

Red-brown (web color "brown")
Red-Brown
 
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#A52A2A
sRGBB (r, g, b)(165, 42, 42)
HSV (h, s, v)(0°, 75%, 65%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(38, 94, 12°)
SourceX11
ISCC–NBS descriptorVivid red
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

The web color called "brown" is displayed at right.

The historical and traditional name for this color is red-brown.

The color shown above at the top right at the head of this article (color #964B00) is the color normally and traditionally regarded as brown—a medium dark orange. Its h (hue) code is 30, which signifies a shade of orange. The color to the immediate right (color #A52A2A) that was chosen as the web color "brown"—a medium dark red—is the color traditionally called red-brown. That this color is a shade of red and not orange can be easily ascertained by inspecting its h (hue) code, which is 0, signifying a shade of red.

The first recorded use of red-brown as a color name in English was in 1682.[2]

Additional variations of brown

Rosy brown
Rosy Brown
 
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#BC8F8F
sRGBB (r, g, b)(188, 143, 143)
HSV (h, s, v)(0°, 24%, 74%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(64, 29, 12°)
SourceX11
ISCC–NBS descriptorLight grayish red
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at right is the web color rosy brown. At a hue of 359, it is classified as a red-brown.

The color name rosy brown first came into use in 1987, when this color was formulated as one of the X11 colors, which in the early 1990s became known as the X11 web colors.

Burnt umber
Burnt umber
 
Vanadinite crystals showing burnt umber coloration
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#8A3324
sRGBB (r, g, b)(138, 51, 36)
HSV (h, s, v)(9°, 74%, 54%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(34, 69, 17°)
SourceXona.com Color List
ISCC–NBS descriptorStrong reddish brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Burnt umber is made by heating raw umber, which dehydrates the iron oxides and changes them partially to the more reddish hematite. It is used for both oil and water color paint. At a hue of 9, it is classified as a red-brown.

The first recorded use of burnt umber as a color name in English was in 1650.[3]

Wenge
Wenge
 
Wenge wood
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#645452
sRGBB (r, g, b)(100, 84, 82)
HSV (h, s, v)(7°, 18%, 39%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(37, 10, 20°)
Source[Unsourced]
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Wenge
#645452

Wenge refers to the distinctive color of the dark-colored wood that is the product of Millettia laurentii, a legume tree from Africa. At a hue of 9, it is classified as a red-brown.

Chestnut
Chestnut
 
Chestnuts can be found on the ground around chestnut trees.
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#954535
sRGBB (r, g, b)(149, 69, 53)
HSV (h, s, v)(10°, 64%, 58%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(39, 63, 19°)
SourceMaerz and Paul
ISCC–NBS descriptorStrong reddish brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)
Main article: Chestnut (color)

Displayed at right is the color chestnut. At a hue of 10, it is classified as a red-brown.

Maroon
Main article: Maroon
Maroon
 
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#800000
sRGBB (r, g, b)(128, 0, 0)
HSV (h, s, v)(0°, 100%, 50%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(26, 86, 12°)
SourceHTML/CSS
ISCC–NBS descriptorDeep reddish brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at right is the web color called maroon in HTML/CSS and it is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word marron, or chestnut.[4] "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown".

Smokey topaz
Smokey Topaz
 
Smoky topaz crystals
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#832A0D
sRGBB (r, g, b)(131, 42, 13)
HSV (h, s, v)(15°, 90%, 51%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(31, 72, 19°)
SourceCrayola
ISCC–NBS descriptorStrong reddish brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at right is the color smokey topaz. At a hue of exactly 15, it is classified as a red-brown or orange-brown. It can also be called a vermilion-brown.

This color was formulated by Crayola in 1994 as one of the colors in the Gem Tones set.

Desert sand
Main article: Desert sand (color)
Desert Sand
 
Desert landscape in Texas
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#EDC9AF
sRGBB (r, g, b)(237, 201, 175)
HSV (h, s, v)(25°, 26%, 93%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(83, 34, 44°)
SourceCrayola
ISCC–NBS descriptorPale orange yellow
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

The color desert sand is displayed at right. At a hue of 19, it is classified as an orange-brown.

It may be publicly regarded as a deep shade of beige. It is a pale tint of a color called desert.

The color name "desert" was first used in 1920.[4]

Dark brown
Dark Brown
 
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#5C4033
sRGBB (r, g, b)(92, 64, 51)
HSV (h, s, v)(19°, 45%, 36%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(30, 22, 33°)
SourceX11
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Dark brown is a dark tone of color brown. At a hue of 19, it is classified as a black-brown.

Beaver
Beaver
 
A North American beaver
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#9F8170
sRGBB (r, g, b)(159, 129, 112)
HSV (h, s, v)(22°, 30%, 62%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(56, 26, 39°)
SourceCrayola
ISCC–NBS descriptorLight brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Beaver is a shade of brown representative of the color of a beaver. At a hue of 22, it is classified as an orange-brown.

The first recorded use of beaver as a color name in English was in 1705.[5]

The color "beaver" was formulated as one of the Crayola colors in 1998.

Etymologically, it's believed that the words "brown" and "beaver" ultimately stem from the same root word.[6]

Cocoa brown
Cocoa Brown
 
Chocolate is created from the cocoa bean. A cacao tree with cocoa bean fruit pods (which are filled with cocoa beans inside of them) in various stages of ripening
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#D2691E
sRGBB (r, g, b)(210, 105, 30)
HSV (h, s, v)(25°, 86%, 82%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(56, 99, 29°)
SourceX11
ISCC–NBS descriptorDeep orange
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at right is the color cocoa brown. At a hue of 25, it is classified as an orange-brown.

Russet
Main article: Russet (color)
Russet
 
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#80461B
sRGBB (r, g, b)(128, 70, 27)
HSV (h, s, v)(26°, 79%, 50%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(36, 54, 33°)
SourceISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptorStrong brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Russet is a dark brown color with a reddish-orange tinge. At a hue of 26, it is classified as an orange-brown.

The first recorded use of russet as a color name in English was in 1562.[7]

The name of the color derives from russet, a coarse cloth made of wool and dyed with woad and madder to give it a subdued gray or reddish-brown shade. By the statute of 1363, poor English people were required to wear russet.[8]

Russet, a color of fall, is often associated with sorrow or grave seriousness. Anticipating a lifetime of regret, Shakespeare's character Biron says: "Henceforth my wooing mind shall be express'd / In russet yeas and honest kersey noes." (Love's Labour's Lost, Act V, Scene 1)

Buff
Main article: Buff (colour)
Buff
 
Buff is the color of fine undyed leathers
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#DAA06D
sRGBB (r, g, b)(218, 160, 109)
HSV (h, s, v)(28°, 50%, 85%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(70, 60, 43°)
SourceMaerz and Paul
ISCC–NBS descriptorLight yellow
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Buff is a pale yellow-brown color that got its name from the color of buffed leather.[9] At a hue of 28, it is classified as an orange-brown.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, buff as a descriptor of a color was first used in the London Gazette of 1686, describing a uniform to be "A Red Coat with a Buff-colour'd lining".[10]

Kobicha (Brown-nose)
Kobicha
 
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#6B4423
sRGBB (r, g, b)(107, 68, 35)
HSV (h, s, v)(28°, 67%, 42%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(33, 37, 39°)
SourceJTC
ISCC–NBS descriptorStrong brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

The color kobicha (brown-nose) is displayed at right. At a hue of 28, it is classified as an orange-brown.

It is one of the Japanese traditional colors that has been in use since 660 AD in the form of various dyes used in designing kimono.[11][12]

The name kobicha comes from the Japanese for the color of a type of kelp tea, but the word was often used as a synonym for a form of flattery[13][14] in a curious parallel with the English usage brown nosing.

Sandy brown
Sandy Brown
 
Sand dunes in Namibia
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#F4A460
sRGBB (r, g, b)(244, 164, 96)
HSV (h, s, v)(28°, 61%, 96%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(74, 81, 40°)
SourceX11
ISCC–NBS descriptorModerate orange
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Sandy brown is a pale shade of brown. Sandy brown is one of the web colors. At a hue of 28, it is classified as an orange-brown.

As its name suggests, it is a shade of brown which is similar to the color of some sands.

The color name sandy brown first came into use in 1987, when this color was formulated as one of the X11 colors, which in the early 1990s became known as the X11 web colors.

Peru
Peru
 
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#CD853F
sRGBB (r, g, b)(205, 133, 63)
HSV (h, s, v)(30°, 69%, 80%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(62, 75, 40°)
SourceX11
ISCC–NBS descriptorModerate orange
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at right is the web color Peru. With a hue of 30, it is classified as an orange-brown.

This color was originally called Peruvian brown with the first recorded use in 1924 of Peruvian brown as a color name in English.[15]

The color name was changed to peru in 1987, when this color was formulated as one of the X11 colors, which in the early 1990s became known as the X11 web colors.

Taupe
Main article: Taupe
Taupe
 
A European mole. Taupe is French for mole.
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#483C32
sRGBB (r, g, b)(72, 60, 50)
HSV (h, s, v)(27°, 31%, 28%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(26, 11, 47°)
SourceISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptorDark grayish yellowish brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

The color taupe is a representation of the average color of the fur of the French mole.[16] At a hue of 30, it is classified as an orange-brown.

The color displayed at right matches the color sample called taupe referenced below in the 1930 book A Dictionary of Color.

The first use of "taupe" as a color name in English was in the early 19th century (exact year is not known).[17]

Walnut brown
Walnut Brown
 
A bunch of walnuts
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#5C5248
sRGBB (r, g, b)(92, 82, 72)
HSV (h, s, v)(30°, 22%, 36%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(36, 11, 52°)
Source
ISCC–NBS descriptorModerate olive brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Walnut brown is a dark brown color; a representation of the color made from walnut hulls. At a hue of 30, it is classified as an orange-brown.

Chocolate
Main articles: Chocolate (color), Black chocolate, and White chocolate
Chocolate
 
Chocolate most commonly comes in three shades; dark (bottom), milk (middle), and white (top) varieties, with cocoa solids contributing to the brown coloration.
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#7B3F00
sRGBB (r, g, b)(123, 63, 0)
HSV (h, s, v)(31°, 100%, 48%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(33, 57, 33°)
SourceMaerz and Paul[18]
ISCC–NBS descriptorStrong brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at right is the color chocolate. At a hue of 31, it is classified as an orange-brown.

Raw umber
Raw Umber
 
Raw umber pigment
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#826644
sRGBB (r, g, b)(130, 102, 68)
HSV (h, s, v)(33°, 48%, 51%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(45, 33, 52°)
SourceISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptorModerate yellowish brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at the right is one version of the color raw umber. At a hue of 33, it is classified as an orange-brown.

Wood brown
Wood Brown
 
A wooden tree stump
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#C19A6B
sRGBB (r, g, b)(193, 154, 107)
HSV (h, s, v)(33°, 45%, 76%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(66, 47, 52°)
SourceRidgway
ISCC–NBS descriptorLight yellowish brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Wood brown is a color that resembles wood. At a hue of 33, it is classified as an orange-brown.

The source of this color is in both the 1886 book Nomenclature of Colors for Naturalists, Compendium of Useful Knowledge for Ornithologists, and the 1912 book Color Standards and Color Nomenclature by Robert Ridgway. This color list was intended for biology and botany and both are now on the Internet.

This color name has been in use since 1886 (Ridgway).

Tan
Main article: Tan (color)
Tan
 
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#D2B48C
sRGBB (r, g, b)(210, 180, 140)
HSV (h, s, v)(34°, 33%, 82%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(75, 39, 56°)
SourceX11
ISCC–NBS descriptorGrayish yellow
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Tan is a pale tone of brown. At a hue of 34, it is classified as an orange-brown.

The name is derived from tannum (oak bark) used in the tanning of leather.[19]

The first recorded use of tan as a color name in English was in the year 1590.[20]

Khaki
Main article: Khaki (color)
Khaki
 
Khaki cargo pants
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#C3B091
sRGBB (r, g, b)(195, 176, 145)
HSV (h, s, v)(37°, 26%, 76%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(73, 28, 61°)
SourceHTML/CSS
ISCC–NBS descriptorGrayish yellow
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at right is the color khaki.

This is the web color called khaki in HTML/CSS. At a hue of 37, it is classified as an orange-brown.

The color shown at right matches the color designated as khaki in the 1930 book A Dictionary of Color, the standard for color nomenclature before the introduction of computers.

The first recorded use of khaki as a color name in English was in 1848.[21]

Beige
Main article: Beige
Beige
 
Wool just before processing
    Color coordinates
Hex triplet#F5F5DC
sRGBB (r, g, b)(245, 245, 220)
HSV (h, s, v)(60°, 10%, 96%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(96, 19, 86°)
SourceX11
ISCC–NBS descriptorPale yellow green
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Beige is a light tan color representative of the color of unbleached wool. At a hue of 60, it is classified as a yellow-brown.

See also

Citations
  1. "brown". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  2. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 190; Color Sample of Red-Brown: Page 33 Plate 5 Color Sample F11 (The color red-brown is listed on page 190 as a variation of the color Bole, under its original 17th-century name, “brown-red”)
  3. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 191; Color Sample of Burnt Umber: Page 53 Plate 15 Color Sample A12
  4. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 194; Color Sample of Desert: Page 47 Plate 12 Color Sample I7
  5. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page190; Color Sample of Beaver: Page 53 Plate 15 Color Sample A6—The color shown above matches the color sample in the book
  6. Harper, Douglas. "beaver". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
  7. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 203; Color Sample of Russet: Page 37 Plate 14 Color Sample I12
  8. R. H. Britnell (1986), Growth and decline in Colchester, 1300–1525, Cambridge University Press, pp. 55–77, ISBN 978-0-521-30572-3
  9. Paterson, Ian (2003), A Dictionary of Colour (1st paperback ed.), London: Thorogood (published 2004), p. 73, ISBN 1-85418-375-3, OCLC 60411025
  10. "buff, adj.1". Oxford English Dictionary. OUP. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  11. Nagasaki, Seiki. Nihon no dentoshoku : sono shikimei to shikicho, Seigensha, 2001. ISBN 4-916094-53-0
  12. Nihon Shikisai Gakkai. Shinpen shikisai kagaku handobukku, Tokyo Daigaku Shuppankai, 1985. ISBN 4-13-061000-7
  13. Nagasaki, Seiki. Nihon no dentoshoku : sono shikimei to shikicho, Seigensha, 2001. ISBN 4-916094-53-0
  14. Nihon Shikisai Gakkai. Shinpen shikisai kagaku handobukku, Tokyo Daigaku Shuppankai, 1985. ISBN 4-13-061000-7
  15. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 201; Color Sample of Peruvian Brown: Page 49 Plate 13 Color Sample L11—The color Peru shown above matches the color sample in the book
  16. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York: 1930 McGraw-Hill page 205; Discussion of Color Taupe, page 183.
  17. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 205; Discussion of Color Taupe, Page 183; Color Sample of Taupe: Page 55 Plate 16 Color Sample A6
  18. The color displayed in the color box above matches the color called chocolate in the 1930 book by Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill; the color chocolate is displayed on page 39, Plate 8, Color Sample H10.
  19. "tan". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
  20. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 205
  21. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 197; Color Sample of Khaki: Page 49 Plate 13 Color Sample J7
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