20 Great Paint Color Names

So…I’m on a bit of a color bender of late. It’s awfully hard not to be when you are eating, sleeping and breathing it, as well as taking a class in it this summer. I’ve begun to hoard things like fan decks and giant-sized paint chips (and no, I didn’t eat them as a kid – not that kind, anyway…). I’ve marveled at the creativity involved in naming these thousands upon thousands of tints, shades, and tones.

There are a few paint color names that are so apt, so dead-on it’s uncanny. I think I would like the job of naming colors. Since that’s unlikely to happen in this lifetime, I wanted to collect and share some of the best paint color names I have come across. You’ll see that the imagery and symbolism is not always…well…appetizing.

1.) 14 Carrots
Benjamin Moore
CSP-1110

2.) Knitting Needles
Sherwin-Williams
SW 7672

3.) Mardi Gras
Behr
UL-250-23

4.) Zeus
Sherwin-Williams
SW 7744

5.) Elephant’s Breath
Farrow & Ball
229

6.) Grandma’s China
Benjamin Moore
CSP-365

7.) Dead Salmon
Farrow & Ball
28

8.) Anonymous
Sherwin-Williams
SW 7046

9.) Cabbage White
Farrow & Ball
269

10.) La Fonda Spanish Dancer
Valspar
2005-3B

11.) Bamboozled
C2
C034

12.) Bracken Architrave Blue Verditer Pale
Pratt & Lambert
CW606

13.) Arsenic
Farrow & Ball
214

14.) Rainbow Fog
Ellen Kennon

15.) Nacho Cheese
Benjamin Moore
2018-40

16.) Flapper Beads
Pratt & Lambert
CL072

17.) Squirrel
Behr
790D-5

18.) Milk Moustache
C2
C080

19.) Carton
Martha Stewart Living
MSL079

20.) Yield
Dutch Boy
C22-1

Do you have a favorite? Which clever paint color names do you love that didn’t make my top 20?

Posted in

Kelly Rogers

3 Comments

  1. Donna Frasca on July 4, 2012 at 5:32 PM

    I like the name “Kept Love Letters” Benjamin Moore, Color Stories. It’s interesting to give color to an item that’s not known to have a specific hue.

    • Kelly R. - Interiors For Families on July 4, 2012 at 7:34 PM

      That is a good one! Color Stories has a lot of good ones, in general – I like Ally’s Earring :).

      • Donna Frasca on July 4, 2012 at 10:46 PM

        Actually the one name in the Color Stories deck that has me scratching my head is “Face Powder”. Great color but for whose face? I wish I had that job on naming paint colors. How fun right?



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