What is that color called? Color Name Finder answers with the closest named color — “Red”, “Teal”, “Burnt Sienna” — plus its exact RGB, HSL, HSV and CMYK values and a ready-made matching scheme for your design.
Pick a color with the picker or type a hex code. The names come live from TheColorAPI, which matches your color against thousands of named shades and builds harmonies from color theory.
How to use it
Pick a color, or type its hex code (six digits, with or without the #). Choose a scheme type — analogous for calm neighbours on the color wheel, complementary for bold contrast, triad or tetrad for balanced multi-color palettes — and press Name this color. Click any swatch to copy its hex code.
A worked example
Enter FF0000. The tool names it exactly: Red, rgb(255, 0, 0), hsl(0, 100%, 50%). Switch the scheme to Complementary and you get a red plus its opposite — a cyan-green — the classic pairing behind countless logos and sports kits. Enter 0F766E (a deep teal) and you get an exact named match with a calm analogous set of blues and greens.
When it helps
Designers name brand colors for style guides. Developers convert a designer’s swatch into code values. Bloggers and shop owners pick palettes that actually harmonise instead of guessing. Students learn color theory by seeing it: change one hex digit and watch the whole scheme shift.
Honest limits
Color names are the closest match in the database, not an official standard — two databases can name the same shade differently. “Exact” means the hex matches a named entry precisely; anything else is labelled closest. Screen colors also shift between displays, so a hex code is the reliable value, not what your monitor shows.
Building a full palette from one color
One color is a start, not a palette. A practical rule: pick a dominant color for about 60% of the design, a secondary color for 30% and an accent for 10%. Use this tool’s analogous scheme for the dominant and secondary — neighbours on the wheel always sit well together — and take the accent from the complementary scheme, the color opposite your dominant. That 60-30-10 split is the reason professional designs look calm even with strong colors.
Test the palette in context before committing. Put the hex codes into your slide, page or room mockup and check contrast: body text needs a strong light-dark difference against its background, while decorative elements can be close in tone. If two colors blur together at small sizes, darken one by a step or lighten the other — the scheme tool gives you those steps in the monochrome modes.
FAQ
Is it free? Yes — unlimited lookups, no sign-up.
What is a hex code? Six digits describing red, green and blue — FF0000 is full red, 000000 is black, FFFFFF is white.
Can I use the schemes commercially? Yes — color values are facts, free for any project.
Why do copied hex codes matter? They paste straight into design tools, CSS and slide decks with zero retyping.
What is the difference between triad and tetrad? A triad picks three colors evenly spaced around the wheel (120° apart) — balanced but lively. A tetrad picks four (two complementary pairs) — richer, but harder to balance, so let one color dominate.
How do I use a hex code in CSS? Paste it after a property name, for example color: #0F766E; or background: #FF0000;. Browsers accept the # form directly.
One last tip: save the hex codes of a palette you like in a note on your phone. The next time you design anything — a slide, a room, a shop banner — you start from a palette that already works instead of guessing from scratch.
Related tools
Color Picker Tool · Color Harmonies Tool · Versión en español: Buscador de Nombres de Colores · All Free Online Tools.
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