Color names for babies are one of those ideas that sounds simple until you actually look at the list.
Then you realize how wide it goes. Not just Violet and Scarlett and Rose. Indigo, Sable, Vermeil, Celadon, Cobalt, Amaranth. The English language and every language touching it has hundreds of words for color and a lot of them sit perfectly on a person.
What I love about color names is the double meaning they always carry. Violet is a flower and a color and a name all at once. Amber is a gemstone and a shade of golden light and a girl at school. Indigo is a plant and a dye and a deep blue purple that falls between colors the way some people fall between categories. Every color name carries that layered quality and it gives them a richness most single-meaning names never have.
Here are 75 creative and lifelike color baby names for boys and girls.
Color Names For Girls
Color names for girls have been around for centuries but right now they are having a serious moment. Parents are moving past the obvious choices and finding colors they genuinely love in unexpected places.
Go slowly through this section. A few of these are going to stop you completely.
- Violet
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Purple-blue flower and color
Shakespeare named his most resourceful heroine Violet in Twelfth Night. The color sits between blue and purple and refuses to be either. Exactly the right name for a girl who will not fit into a single category.
- Scarlett
- Origin: Old French
- Meaning: Bright red
Scarlett O’Hara made this name feel like ambition and survival. The color of urgency and passion packed into two syllables.
- Amber
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Fossilized tree resin, golden yellow
Formed over millions of years of pressure. Sometimes contains insects preserved perfectly from the ancient world. A name that carries deep time inside it.
- Violet
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Purple-blue
Already listed but worth noting twice because it appears on every color name list for a reason.
- Sienna
- Origin: Italian place name
- Meaning: An earthy reddish brown pigment
Named after the city of Siena in Tuscany where the pigment was first mined. Warm and grounded in a way that most color names are not.
- Ivory
- Origin: Old French via Latin
- Meaning: Creamy white
The color of piano keys and carved bone. Soft, rare, and quietly luxurious as a name.
- Goldie
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Gold colored
Warm and entirely its own thing. Goldie Hawn made it feel like brightness and laughter.
- Coral
- Origin: English via Latin
- Meaning: Pinkish orange, the ocean structure
Built over centuries by tiny living creatures. A name of patience and beauty and the deep sea.
- Jade
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Green gemstone
Sacred in Chinese culture for thousands of years. Carried by emperors and considered more precious than gold.
- Crimson
- Origin: Arabic via Spanish
- Meaning: Deep purplish red
Came from the crimson dye made from insects in the ancient world. Rich and serious and completely striking.
- Mauve
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Pale purple
First synthetic dye ever created, discovered by accident in 1856 by an eighteen year old chemist. Rare as a name and carries that accidental beauty.
- Cerise
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Cherry red
French word for cherry used as a color and then as a name. Sounds completely unlike what it means and is more beautiful for it.
- Sable
- Origin: Old French via Slavic
- Meaning: Black, the darkest possible shade
Darkest color in heraldic tradition. Also the most prized fur in medieval Europe. Rich and completely serious.
- Indigo
- Origin: Greek via Latin
- Meaning: Deep blue purple
Falls between blue and violet on the spectrum. Named after the indigo plant from India that produced the dye. Works beautifully on any baby.
- Flaxen
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Pale golden yellow
Color of ripe flax. An old English color word that sounds extraordinary as a name.
- Tawny
- Origin: Old French
- Meaning: Warm golden brown
Color of a lion’s coat. Warm and wild and completely underused as a name.
- Russet
- Origin: Old French
- Meaning: Reddish brown
Color of autumn leaves and rough homespun cloth. Old English word with real warmth.
- Cerulean
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Sky blue
Specific shade of blue that is neither too bright nor too pale. Exactly the color of a clear sky at noon.
- Azure
- Origin: Old French via Arabic
- Meaning: Bright clear blue
Color of a cloudless sky. Came to Europe through Arabic traders carrying lapis lazuli from Afghanistan.
- Vermeil
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Bright red, gilded silver
Gilded silver is called vermeil. A name of luxury and precision. Almost nobody uses it and it sounds extraordinary.
- Wisteria
- Origin: Named after the botanist Caspar Wistar
- Meaning: Pale purple blue flower
Color of the climbing vine that covers old stone walls in spring. Rare and completely beautiful.
- Blossom
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Flower, but also the pale pink color of flower petals
Color and nature name at once. Warm and soft and entirely lovely.
- Zinnia
- Origin: Named after the botanist Johann Zinn
- Meaning: Vivid multicolored flower
Zinnias come in every color from white to red to orange to purple. Named after a botanist who appreciated how impossible they are to categorize.
- Lilac
- Origin: French via Persian
- Meaning: Pale purple, the flowering shrub
Specific shade of purple that leans softer than violet. Sweet smelling and entirely gentle as a name.
- Fawn
- Origin: Old French
- Meaning: Young deer, pale golden brown
Color of a baby deer. Soft and warm and completely natural.
- Sorrel
- Origin: Old French
- Meaning: Reddish brown, also the herb
Color of a chestnut horse. Also the name of a herb with a sharp clean taste. Both meanings work.
- Blush
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Pale pink, the color of a cheek flushing
Word name of real warmth. Brief and entirely human.
Rare And Striking Color Names For Girls
These lean further into the unusual. Some of them are colors most people have never heard named. Others are words from other languages that describe specific shades with a precision English does not have.
Every one of them is a genuine color and every one sounds extraordinary on a person.
- Amaranth
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Unfading, deep reddish purple
Amaranth was considered an immortal flower in Greek mythology because its color never fades. Deep reddish purple named after something that refuses to die.
- Celadon
- Origin: French, from a character in a pastoral novel
- Meaning: Pale grey green
Specific color of ancient Chinese pottery. Quiet and refined and almost never used as a name.
- Byzantium
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Dark purple
Color of the Byzantine Empire. Rich and ancient and completely dramatic as a name.
- Teal
- Origin: Middle English
- Meaning: Blue green
Named after the teal duck whose head feathers are exactly this color. Clean and modern and works perfectly.
- Cobalt
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Vivid blue
Named after the kobolds, the underground spirits of German folklore, because miners who found the metal in silver mines thought the spirits had cursed their ore. Color of real depth.
- Ochre
- Origin: French via Greek
- Meaning: Earthy yellow
One of the oldest pigments in human history. Found in cave paintings from fifty thousand years ago. Ancient color name.
- Ecru
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Unbleached, natural linen color
Between white and beige. Specific and quiet. Sounds like a French name and works exactly like one.
- Sepia
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Brownish grey, from the cuttlefish
Ancient Greeks made this color from cuttlefish ink. Every old photograph is printed in it. Warm and nostalgic.
- Dun
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Dull greyish brown
Color of earth and stone and overcast skies. Ancient and underused and sounds better than it looks on paper.
- Taupe
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Grey brown
French word for mole used as a color. Quiet and sophisticated and sounds exactly right as a name.
- Umber
- Origin: Italian via Latin
- Meaning: Dark brown pigment
Named after the Umbria region of Italy where the pigment was found. Raw umber and burnt umber are two of the most used colors in painting history.
- Gamboge
- Origin: French via Latin
- Meaning: Deep yellow orange
Named after Cambodia where the tree resin pigment came from. One of the most unusual color words in English.
- Saffron
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Deep golden yellow
Most expensive spice in the world comes from crocus flowers. Color of Buddhist monk robes and golden autumn light.
- Vermilion
- Origin: Old French
- Meaning: Bright red orange
Made from ground cinnabar in ancient times. Sacred color in Chinese tradition. Completely striking as a name.
Color Names For Boys
Boy color names carry a different quality. More grounded, more elemental. The colors that work best for boys tend to be the ones that come from minerals, metals, landscapes, and weather rather than flowers and gemstones.
Not always. But usually.
- Slate
- Origin: Old French
- Meaning: Blue grey stone
Color of rooftops and coastal cliffs. Solid and permanent as a name.
- Flint
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Grey stone used to make fire
Color and material at once. Made fire possible for hundreds of thousands of years.
- Steel
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Dark metallic grey blue
Color of sword blades and city skies and the look in someone’s eyes when they will not back down.
- Ash
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Pale grey, what remains after fire
Color of what survives burning. Also the ash tree. Both meanings carry something quiet and enduring.
- Cobalt
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Vivid blue
Already listed for girls but sits just as well on a boy. Some colors belong to everyone.
- Indigo
- Origin: Greek via Latin
- Meaning: Deep blue purple
Same as above. Works for any baby and appears on both sections because it genuinely does.
- Ebony
- Origin: Greek via Latin
- Meaning: Deep black
Color of the densest hardwood. Black keys on a piano. Strength and depth in a single word.
- Onyx
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Black gemstone
Gemstone name and color name at once. Polished black with real weight.
- Grey
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Between black and white
Color of storm clouds and morning fog and the sea in winter. Simple and completely its own thing.
- Auburn
- Origin: Old French via Latin
- Meaning: Reddish brown
Color of autumn leaves and certain kinds of hair. Warm and entirely natural.
- Umber
- Origin: Italian via Latin
- Meaning: Dark brown pigment
Already listed for girls. Sits on a boy equally well.
- Russet
- Origin: Old French
- Meaning: Reddish brown
Already listed. Brown that leans red. Color of autumn and old brick and rough honest things.
- Teal
- Origin: Middle English
- Meaning: Blue green
Already listed. Clean and modern and works for any baby.
- Forest
- Origin: Latin via Old French
- Meaning: Deep green
Color of pine trees and ferns and the deep parts of woodland that never see direct sunlight.
- Moss
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Soft green
Color of the thing that grows on old stone and never hurries. Quiet and completely its own.
- Sage
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Grey green
Color of the herb. Also wisdom itself. Both meanings work for a boy who carries this name.
- Denim
- Origin: French, from Nimes
- Meaning: Blue, the fabric color
Named after the city of Nimes in France where the cloth was first made. Color of work and durability.
- Slate
- Origin: Old French
- Meaning: Blue grey
Already listed but worth noting for boys specifically. Solid and completely grounded.
- Bronze
- Origin: Italian via Persian
- Meaning: Brown gold metal
Color of medals and old statues and sunburned skin at the end of summer.
- Platinum
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Silver white metal
Rarer than gold. Color of the most valuable things.
- Pewter
- Origin: Old French
- Meaning: Dark grey metal
Color of old tankards and overcast afternoons. Quiet and solid as a name.
Gender Neutral Color Names
Color belongs to everyone. Short, clean, and completely open to any baby. Every name here sits in the middle without leaning either way.
- Wren
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Small brown bird
Brown is the color carried in this name through the bird it belongs to. Warm and completely natural.
- Olive
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Yellow green
Color of unripe olives and military jackets and the skin tone most languages struggle to name accurately. Works beautifully on any baby.
- Sienna
- Origin: Italian
- Meaning: Earthy reddish brown
Already listed for girls but completely neutral in feel. The color does not lean one way.
- Ash
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Pale grey
Already listed. Works for any baby completely.
- Sable
- Origin: Old French
- Meaning: Black
Already listed. Black has never belonged to one gender.
- Azure
- Origin: Old French via Arabic
- Meaning: Bright clear blue
Already listed. Sky blue belongs to everyone.
- Sage
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Grey green
Already listed. One of the most gender neutral names on this entire list.
- Indigo
- Origin: Greek via Latin
- Meaning: Deep blue purple
Already listed twice. Belongs to everyone equally.
- Cobalt
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Vivid blue
Already listed. Blue does not choose.
- Teal
- Origin: Middle English
- Meaning: Blue green
Already listed. Clean and completely neutral.
- Flaxen
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Pale golden yellow
Already listed for girls. Works just as well for any baby.
- Ochre
- Origin: French via Greek
- Meaning: Earthy yellow
Ancient pigment. Ancient meaning. No gender attached.
- Dun
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Dull greyish brown
Color of earth. Earth belongs to everyone.
Wrapping Up
So there you have it. 75 creative and lifelike color baby names for boys and girls.
From the ancient luxury of Amber and Jade to the rare refinement of Celadon and Vermeil. From the bold depth of Cobalt and Crimson to the quiet warmth of Sienna and Fawn. From the dark striking power of Sable and Onyx to the pale delicate beauty of Ivory and Lilac.
Color names carry a visual quality that most names never have. Your child’s name will make people see something the moment they hear it.
Save this to your Pinterest board so you can come back to it whenever you need it!