Wikipedia:WikiProject Color/Sources for Color Coordinates

This project page lists suggested sources for coordinates to use in Template:Infobox Color.

Major sources

 * HTML/CSS color names. While X11 names were the original, the HTML/CSS values should be used when not conflicting with the X11 coordinates because they specify the color space.
 * Source: W3C TR CSS3 Color Module
 * Suggested value for source parameter: HTML/CSS
 * X11 color names. When the HTML/CSS and X11 names conflict this source should also be used. Unlike the HTML/CSS color names, the X11 names do not specify the RGB space (only assumed to be sRGB) and include several variations of darker or lighter shades of a number of web colors.
 * Source: xorg-rgb rgb.txt
 * Suggested value for source parameter: X11 color names
 * W3C TR CSS3 Color Module, HTML4 color keywords HSL Color Charts: – Lists of official HTML, X11, and SVG color names and RGB coordinates; plus HSL Color Charts for calculating the hsl values for any color.  The charts are halfway down the website.  There are 12 charts, one for each of the 12 colors at 30 degree intervals on the HSV color wheel: red, orange, yellow, chartreuse, green, spring green, teal, turquoise, blue-green, azure, blue, violet, purple, magenta, and rose.  Hence is also the source for that example set of primary, secondary, and tertiary color names.

Other Possible References (Disputed by Some)

 * List of Crayola crayon colors
 * A wikipedia article is never a source; this article has color coordinates, but they are unsourced. Online sources such as  imply numbers were sampled from this Crayola page, but the numbers themselves are not provided by Crayola, as far as I can tell.  This page has what they call "rough approximations" for the color numbers, probably the same way. Dicklyon (talk) 06:57, 12 September 2008 (UTC)
 * The List of Crayola crayon colors was updated in late 2008 (by another editor) with color codes directly supplied by Crayola itself: Crayola Crayon Color Codes: (See footnote number 10 in article, which links to this reference). These color codes are slightly different than the old color codes that were listed before.  Keraunos (talk) 01:50, 7 December 2009 (UTC)


 * ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Colo(u)r Names – 1955, at tx4.us – This site requires use of a Digital Color Meter (color coordinates not given). This site is used by stamp collectors to identify the color of their stamps.  This site should be used with care because in some cases colors possessing identical hex codes are identified by different names in different parts of the alphabet.  This site should never be used for bright purple colors because a very small number of swatches are used for those colors and many different purple color names have identical swatches.  It is best to use this color list for dull unsaturated colors because the brighter colors in it have not been brought up to modern computer display standards for the display of bright colors. However, this site is excellent for accessing actual color names that have been in current use for at least fifty years.
 * While this site may be a good source of color names, use of a digital color meter is original research and should not be used for coordinates Template:Infobox Color — Preceding unsigned comment added by PaleAqua (talk • contribs)
 * I disagree that using this site is orginal research. The hex codes already implicitly exist in the color swatches shown on this website.  It is merely a matter of doing a simple measurement of them, which should have been done by those who put this website on the Internet; they were apparently just too lazy to do it because there are so many hundreds of colors on this site.  Just because they didn't put the hex code next to the samples is no reason for us to refrain from taking a simple reading of these color samples.  These are historically valid color names that have been in use for at least fifty years. Many of the colors, however, are not notable (except those that are shades of a notable color) and it would be justified to exclude many of them for that reason. Another problem is that many of these colors have not been updated and upgraded to the brighter colors that it is possible to display on a computer.  Keraunos 06:21, 11 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I wouldn't object to using the site to show the approximate appearance of named colors, but they make no claim to their exact numbers being correct or authoritative, so they're not a reliable source for color coordinates (or for much else, it looks like). Dicklyon (talk) 06:47, 12 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Okay, you 2007 people are funny. The sRGB hexcode is literally in the source code of the HTML website. If you do "inspect element" on the swatch block, you will see a background-color: #xxxxxx staring at you. And if you just looked around at all, you will find https://web.archive.org/web/20070609141957/http://tx4.us/nbs-iscc.htm giving you ALL the hexcodes without requiring browser magic. That ain't OR. --Artoria2e5 🌉 14:58, 5 March 2021 (UTC)


 * The ISCC-NBS is actually a composite of several other color charts. Although the ISCC-NBS does not list the color codes, the individual color lists it is drawn from DO list the color codes:Keraunos (talk) 07:58, 20 January 2010 (UTC)
 * FEDERAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR READY-MIXED PAINTS: Federal Specification TT-C-595, Colors; (for) Ready-Mixed Paints: Federal Specifications for Ready-Mixed Paints:Keraunos (talk) 08:16, 20 January 2010 (UTC)
 * HORTICULTURAL COLOR LIST: Horticultural Colour Charts, R. F. Wilson Horticultural Colour List:Keraunos (talk) 08:23, 20 January 2010 (UTC)
 * MAERZ AND PAUL DICTIONARY OF COLOR: Dictionary of Color, Maerz and Paul (1930) Maerz and Paul Dictionary of Color (1930) List of 4,589 colors (Not upgraded to web standards for computer display; sometimes different color names are listed as the same color code, even when they are different color samples in the printed book [a deficiency apparently introduced by whoever compiled the list of color codes):]
 * PLOCHERE COLOR LIST: Plochere Color System (used for Interior Design): Plochere Color System:--Color system introduced in 1948 that is widely used by interior designers. Keraunos (talk) 23:45, 6 December 2009 (UTC)
 * RIDGWAY COLOR LIST: Ridgway Color Standards and Color Nomenclature (1912) (this color dictionary was intended for biology and botany): Ridgway,Color Standards and Color Nomenclature:--Keraunos (talk) 07:50, 20 January 2010 (UTC)


 * HTML Color Chart at tx4.us--Chart displaying the colors of each of the 360 degrees of the HSV color wheel (from the ISCC-NBS website). The color names on the chart were just made up by the compilers of the site and are not authoritative--these color names are not used anywhere else. (Note: The chart is at the bottom of the page about 90% of the way down.)
 * Xona.com Color List--This site has color coordinates, but it is not an authoritative source--most of the color names are purely arbitrary inventions like the names in a paint store catalog (in fact a large percentage of the color names are from the RGB Values list of Resene Paint Ltd.); this site should only be used for colors that are not on the preceding six color source lists and that can be supplied with independent references as notable colors with evidence of a history of the use of the color name outside of this site. This color list is popular among some younger web site designers because it includes the web colors but also adds numerous other color names including the Resene Paint Ltd. paint color names. Some of the color names on this list are totally nonsensical and some have no color relation even to the object that they purportedly name the color of. Names on this list should only be used for colors that can be matched with an image that shows the color matches the object unless it is a color name clearly intended for use in interior design, which even then should have some relationship to the object being named.  Keraunos (talk) 01:44, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 * It is best to refer to the original source. — Preceding unsigned comment added by PaleAqua (talk • contribs)


 * Colour Lovers--Website where people register their favorite colour. Keraunos 12:01, 3 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Obviously not a reliable source, since anyone can put anything there; for example, I found a dozen or more "army green", none of which matched that army green that cited this site as its source. Dicklyon (talk) 06:47, 12 September 2008 (UTC)


 * pourpre.com--A French website on which you can click on the color line at the top of the page at five degree hue intervals and it displays the traditional French names of the colors at that hue angle (many of the colors on the French Wikipedia “Liste de couleurs” are taken from this list). Before putting any of these colors into the English Wikipedia, their names would have to be translated into English. Keraunos (talk) 07:50, 20 January 2010 (UTC)


 * BEHR--Website with all BEHR colors. Ssjhowarthisawesome (talk) 00:49, 27 August 2016 (UTC)


 * Corel Photopaint 8 color palette--Where Corel Photopaint 8 users select a color to paint. Ssjhowarthisawesome (talk) 20:59, 1 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Sherwin Williams -- Website with all Sherwin Williams colors. Ssjhowarthisawesome (talk) 01:26, 20 February 2018 (UTC)