Online Tool Store
Color Palette Namer
Paste a list of colors and get a descriptive name for each, the closest standard CSS color, near-duplicate warnings, and WCAG contrast against white and black — exported as CSS custom properties or JSON. Runs entirely in your browser.
🔒 This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your files are never uploaded to a server.
Browser tool
Color Palette Namer
How it works
- Paste your colors — hex, rgb(), or CSS color names, one per line or comma-separated.
- Each gets a name: an exact CSS color name when it's a close match, otherwise a generated description like "Vivid Dark Blue."
- Check the warnings for any near-identical colors, and the contrast numbers if you'll use a color as text or a background.
- Export the whole palette as CSS custom properties or JSON.
FAQ
Is my data uploaded anywhere?
No. Color Palette Namer runs entirely in your browser — nothing is sent to a server.
Where do the names come from?
Two sources. If a color is at or very close to one of the 148 standard CSS color keywords (things like "forestgreen" or "royalblue" — verified against the CSS/SVG specification), that exact name is used. Otherwise a descriptive name is generated from its hue, lightness, and saturation, like "Vivid Dark Blue" or "Grayish Light Green" — never an invented specific name we could not verify.
What counts as a "near-duplicate" color?
Two colors close enough in perceptual color space (measured in CIE Lab, not raw RGB) that they would look almost identical side by side — a common thing to catch before shipping a palette with two swatches nobody can tell apart.
What do the contrast numbers mean?
The WCAG 2 contrast ratio of that color against solid white and solid black, from 1:1 (no contrast) to 21:1 (black on white). AA needs 4.5:1 for normal text or 3:1 for large text; AAA needs 7:1 — useful for checking a color is safe to use as text or a background.
Can I enter more than one color at once?
Yes — one per line, or comma-separated. Hex codes, rgb()/rgba(), and CSS color names are all accepted.
How accurate is the result?
The 148 exact CSS color names are verified against the CSS Color Module / SVG specification. Distances between colors use a standard sRGB-to-Lab conversion, checked against published reference values. The descriptive names are a naming scheme built from clear hue/lightness/saturation bands, not a guess.
Can I use the names for design tokens or a style guide?
Yes — that is exactly what it is built for: turning a palette of hex codes into human-readable names you can drop into token names, documentation, or a style guide instead of using raw hex values.
How we compare
| Feature | Online Tool Store | Theme & Color hex finder | Paid design software |
|---|---|---|---|
| Names a whole palette at once, not one color at a time | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Flags near-duplicate colors in the same palette | ✓ | Not applicable — single color only | ✗ |
| WCAG contrast against white and black shown inline | ✓ | ✗ | Usually a separate tool |
| Exact match uses a verified standard CSS color name | ✓ | ✓ | Brand-specific naming |
| Free, no sign-up | ✓ | ✓ | Often subscription-based |
Single-color name finders are built for looking up one swatch at a time. This is built for reviewing a whole palette at once — the near-duplicate and contrast checks are exactly what catches problems before a palette ships.