List of Colors That Start With “C”

While there are only three primary colors, which are red, blue, and yellow, the world is full of many more. In art, these three colors can be mixed together to make other colors.

Even in one hue, there can be many variations. Here are some versions of tints that begin with the letter c.

Cadet

Cadet is a dark grayish-blue. It is a darker hue of cadet gray. The term was first used as a color word in English in 1915.

Cadet Blue

Cadet blue is a light blue-green color. It is considered a web color, since it was put together in 1987 as a X11 color, which was renamed X11 web colors in the early 1990s. Cadet blue was first used as a color name in English in 1892.

Cadet Gray

Cadet gray is a mix of blue and gray. It was first referred to in English in 1912. Prior to this year, the term was used to describe a military uniform.

Cadmium Green

Cadmium green is a deep yellow-green color. It is a pigment that has cadmium in it. Cadmium is a soft metal that is silvery white.

Cadmium Orange

Cadmium orange is a deep orange hue. It is a popular pigment used by artists in paint. The pigment is vivid in color, making it a great choice to use in paints.

Cadmium Red

Cadmium red is a bright reddish-orange hue. It is a color seen many times in architectural paints, since the tint lasts longer than others. The pigment is also used in art glass.

Cadmium Yellow

Cadmium yellow is a bright greenish-yellow color. This hue of paint was used all the time on Bob Ross’ television show, called The Joy of Painting. It contains cadmium sulfide, which is a yellow solid.

Café Au Lait

Café Au Lait is light brown in hue. It is a shade of coffee. The color is also known as latte or coffee and milk.

Café Au Lait was first used as a color word in English in 1839. It symbolizes the hue of coffee when mixed with milk.

Café Noir

Café Noir is a dark yellow-brown tint. It is also called black coffee. It was first recorded as a color term in English in 1928.

It symbolizes the color of coffee once it is brewed black.

Calypso

Calypso is a specific medium to dark shade of cyan. It has a mix of blue and green, with more blue than green in it.

Cambridge Blue

Cambridge Blue is a light yellow-green. The University of Cambridge uses this color in their sports teams. It is a medium shade of spring green.

Camel

Camel is a hue that is similar to the color of the hair on camels. It is a light yellow-brown. It was first used as a color name in English in 1916.

It is one of many shades of brown. Camel is also the hue described on overcoats that were popular to wear in the summers of the 1950s.

Cameo Pink

Cameo pink is a medium-light version of rose pink. It is also described as a pale purple-pink. This pink was first used as a color term in English in 1912.

Canary Yellow

Canary yellow is a light green-yellow. It is also called pigment yellow, process yellow, and printer’s yellow. Canary yellow was first coined a color name in English in 1789.

Candy Apple Red

Candy apple red is a bright red-orange. It is also known as apple-candy red and is used to describe a red that looks similar to the red sugar coating applied to candied apples by manufacturing companies.

A metallic base-coat is first painted on, then a coat of translucent color, with a clear coat to really make the color shine.

Candy Pink

Candy pink is a deep pink color. It is a lighter shade of candy apple red. Candy pink was first used as a color name in 1926.

It was mentioned in Maerz and Paul’s book A Dictionary of Color in 1930.

Caput Mortuum

Caput mortuum is a dark reddish-brown. It means “dead head” in Latin and also goes by caput mortem and caput mortum.

The color as also known as cardinal purple, which is the term used to describe the purple type of haematite iron oxide pigment that was used for papere dyes and oil paints. The color was used when painting robes of religious figures.

Cardinal

Cardinal is a bright-red color. It might have gotten its name from the long coats worn by Catholic cardinals. The first use of the word as a color term in English was in 1698.

The school colors of Wesleyan, Wisconsin, and Arizona used this shade of red, as well as the Alpha Sigma Phi and Phi Kappa Psi fraternities.

Caribbean Green

Caribbean green is a medium dark version of green-cyan. Basic cyan is greenish-blue.

Carmine

Carmine is also known as Latvian and Imperial red. It is a bright red that has some purple in it. It was first used as a color word in English in 1523.

It comes from a pigment used to make paints from.

Carnation Pink

Carnation pink is a medium purplish pink. It is close to the pink seen on many carnation flowers. It was first used as a color word in English in 1535.

Carnelian

Carnelian is a reddish-brown hue. It is named after a gemstone with the same name. The term was first used as a color name in English in 1899.

Carolina Blue

Carolina blue is a light blue used as an official school color for the University of North Carolina. It is also called Tar Heel blue. There are variations of the color, based on what it is used for.

Carrot Orange

Carrot orange is a strong orange hue. It symbolizes the color of carrots. It was first used as a color name in English in 1684.

Castleton Green

Castleton green is a dark yellow-green. It is an official color for Castleton University in Vermont. Castleton green is mainly used for the athletic teams of the school, the Castleton Spartans.

Catawba

Catawba is a dark shade of red. It symbolizes the color of the catawba grapes’ outer skin. It was first used as a color name in the English language in 1916.

Cedar Chest

Cedar chest is a deep shade of red, almost orange. It is similar to the color of chests made of cedar wood.

Celadon

Celadon is a light yellow-green. It comes from a type of Chinese ceramic that looked pale gray-green in color. The term might have also come from a character in a French novel that wore a light green.

Celadon Green

Celadon green is similar to the shade of jade green. It also refers to pottery that was also known as greenware. The transparent glaze comes from China.

Celeste

Celeste is a pale light turquoise color. Its name means celestial in Italian. Celeste is also known as Italian blue sky.

Cerise

Cerise is a deep reddish-pink. It comes from the French word for cherry, cerise. The word was first used as a color term in English on November 30, 1858 in The Times.

Cerulean

Cerulean is a deep green-blue. The shade of blue has a range between azure and darker sky blue. It comes from the Latin word caeruleus, which means, “dark blue, blue, or blue-green”.

Champagne

Champagne is a pale-yellow hue that can look like a light yellow-orange to a color similar to beige. It refers to the French drink with the same name. Champagne was first used as a color term in English in 1915.

Champagne Pink

Champagne pink is a yellow version of pink. It looks like a light peach color. Champagne pink is included on the “Pantone Textile Paper eXtended” color list as color #12-1107 TPX.

Charcoal

Charcoal is a very dark gray blue. It symbolizes the color wood turns into after it is burned. The term was first used as a color word in English in 1606.

Charleston Green

Charleston green is a dark hue of cyan. It almost looks like a green-black color.

Charm Pink

Charm pink is a dark purple-pink. It was first mentioned in 1948. The term also refers to a color that is popular in interior design.

Chartreuse

Chartreuse is a bright yellow-green. It is similar to the color of a French liqueur with the same name. The name comes from a French term meaning charterhouse.

Cherry Blossom Pink

Cherry blossom pink is a medium shade of pink. The name comes from the flowers that bloom on cherry blossom trees. It was first recorded as a color name in English in 1867.

Chestnut

Chestnut is a reddish-brown hue. It is named after the nut that grows from a chestnut tree. The name was first recorded in English as a color word in 1555.

China Pink

China pink is a deep purple-pink hue. It was first used in 1948. China pink was first mentioned in the Plochere Color System, which is still used by interior designers.

China Rose

China rose is a medium shade of purple and red combined. It is a deep version of rose. The hue was first recorded as a color name in English in 1925.

Chinese Red

Chinese red is another term for the color vermillion, which is a bright reddish-orange. The Chinese used it when making their lacquerware, which comes from the Chinese lacquer tree. Red is a dominant color in Chinese culture.

Chinese Violet

Chinese violet is a medium shade of purple. It was first written down as a color term in English in 1912.

Chocolate

Chocolate is a deep brown. It is close to the color of chocolate candy. 1737 is the year it was written as an English color name.

Cinereous

Cinereous is a light gray-brown hue. It is also known as ash gray. The word comes from the Latin term cinereus, meaning ashes.

Cinnamon Satin

Cinnamon satin is a deep version of the color pink. It is similar to the shade of the cinnamon spice.

Citrine

Citrine is a bright green-yellow. Its describes a particular shade that quartz comes in. The name comes from the color of a fruit called citron and was first mentioned as a color term in 1386.

Citron

Citron is a dark shade of green-yellow. The deep lemon hue is close to the color of the citron fruit.

Claret

Claret is also referred to as bordeaux. It is a dark red and similar to the shade of bordeaux wine.

Cobalt Blue

Cobalt blue is a bright blue color that comes from a blue pigment made with aluminum oxide and sintering cobalt oxide.

Cocoa Brown

Cocoa brown is a deep orange hue.

Coconut

Coconut is a hue of red and orange combined.

Coffee

Coffee is a medium-brown hue that looks like a roasted coffee bean.

Columbia Blue

Columbia blue is a light shade of blue used to represent Columbia University.

Congo Pink

Congo pink is a deep yellow-pink color.

Cool Gray

Cool gray is a light purple-blue.

Copper

Copper is a red-brown hue that looks similar to the metal copper.

Copper Penny

Copper penny is a gray red that looks like the color of a penny.

Copper Red

Copper red is a medium red-orange and was first used in English in 1590.

Copper Rose

Copper rose is a gray red tint that was first used as a color word in 1928.

Coquelicot

Coquelicot is a bright shade of red-orange, similar to the color of wild poppies.

Coral

Coral is a bright red-orange that was first mentioned in English in 1513.

Coral Pink

Coral pink is a deep yellow-red that was first recorded in 1892 in English.

Cordovan

Cordovan is a deep burgundy or rose that was first mentioned in English in 1925.

Cornell Red

Cornell red is a vivid version of red and the color used to represent Cornell University.

Cornflower Blue

Cornflower blue is a bright blue that was a favorite of Johannes Vermeer, a Dutch painter.

Cornsilk

Cornsilk is an extremely light yellow color.

Cosmic Cobalt

Cosmic cobalt is a medium-dark version of blue and magenta mixed together.

Cosmic Latte

Cosmic latte is a pale yellow-green and is considered the average shade for the universe.

Cotton Candy

Cotton candy is a light hue of pink, similar to the shade on the candy with the same name.

Coyote Brown

Coyote brown is a brown used frequently in military camouflage.

Cream

Cream is a light shade of yellow and a pastel color.

Crimson

Crimson is a deep red that is close to purple. It comes from a dye produced by an insect called Kermes vermilio.

Cultured

Cultured is also called whitesmoke and is an extremely light version of gray.

Cyan

Cyan is a green-blue hue that has many variations, such as teal and aquamarine.

Cyber Grape

Cyber grape is a dark shade of blue and magenta, similar to the color of grapes.

Cyber Yellow

Cyber yellow is a deep shade of yellow used for design.

Cyclamen

Cyclamen is a deep purple-pink that represents the color of the flower cyclamen.

Source: Wikipedia list of colors