338

What named colors are available in matplotlib for use in plots? I can find a list on the matplotlib documentation that claims that these are the only names:

b: blue
g: green
r: red
c: cyan
m: magenta
y: yellow
k: black
w: white

However, I've found that these colors can also be used, at least in this context:

scatter(X,Y, color='red')
scatter(X,Y, color='orange')
scatter(X,Y, color='darkgreen')

but these are not on the above list. Does anyone know an exhaustive list of the named colors that are available?

3
  • 5
    Basically, it's all of the HTML color names, so you can always just google "HTML colors" if you want several nice charts. @BoshWash's excellent answer below gives you the exact list, though. Mar 14, 2014 at 15:26
  • 15
    There's also this nice picture at matplotlib.org
    – user2379410
    May 9, 2015 at 10:41
  • That is a nice picture, I probably should have noticed it. To be fair, it was first posted a month before I posted this question, and I'm pretty sure I searched through the docs many times before then for the answer to this question. Feb 5, 2016 at 14:51

6 Answers 6

469

I constantly forget the names of the colors I want to use and keep coming back to this question =)

The previous answers are great, but I find it a bit difficult to get an overview of the available colors from the posted image. I prefer the colors to be grouped with similar colors, so I slightly tweaked the matplotlib answer that was mentioned in a comment above to get a color list sorted in columns. The order is not identical to how I would sort by eye, but I think it gives a good overview.

I updated the image and code to reflect that 'rebeccapurple' has been added and the three sage colors have been moved under the 'xkcd:' prefix since I posted this answer originally.

enter image description here

I really didn't change much from the matplotlib example, but here is the code for completeness.

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
from matplotlib import colors as mcolors


colors = dict(mcolors.BASE_COLORS, **mcolors.CSS4_COLORS)

# Sort colors by hue, saturation, value and name.
by_hsv = sorted((tuple(mcolors.rgb_to_hsv(mcolors.to_rgba(color)[:3])), name)
                for name, color in colors.items())
sorted_names = [name for hsv, name in by_hsv]

n = len(sorted_names)
ncols = 4
nrows = n // ncols

fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(12, 10))

# Get height and width
X, Y = fig.get_dpi() * fig.get_size_inches()
h = Y / (nrows + 1)
w = X / ncols

for i, name in enumerate(sorted_names):
    row = i % nrows
    col = i // nrows
    y = Y - (row * h) - h

    xi_line = w * (col + 0.05)
    xf_line = w * (col + 0.25)
    xi_text = w * (col + 0.3)

    ax.text(xi_text, y, name, fontsize=(h * 0.8),
            horizontalalignment='left',
            verticalalignment='center')

    ax.hlines(y + h * 0.1, xi_line, xf_line,
              color=colors[name], linewidth=(h * 0.8))

ax.set_xlim(0, X)
ax.set_ylim(0, Y)
ax.set_axis_off()

fig.subplots_adjust(left=0, right=1,
                    top=1, bottom=0,
                    hspace=0, wspace=0)
plt.show()

Additional named colors

Updated 2017-10-25. I merged my previous updates into this section.

xkcd

If you would like to use additional named colors when plotting with matplotlib, you can use the xkcd crowdsourced color names, via the 'xkcd:' prefix:

plt.plot([1,2], lw=4, c='xkcd:baby poop green')

Now you have access to a plethora of named colors!

enter image description here

Tableau

The default Tableau colors are available in matplotlib via the 'tab:' prefix:

plt.plot([1,2], lw=4, c='tab:green')

There are ten distinct colors:

enter image description here

HTML

You can also plot colors by their HTML hex code:

plt.plot([1,2], lw=4, c='#8f9805')

This is more similar to specifying and RGB tuple rather than a named color (apart from the fact that the hex code is passed as a string), and I will not include an image of the 16 million colors you can choose from...


For more details, please refer to the matplotlib colors documentation and the source file specifying the available colors, _color_data.py.


5
  • Thanks for the plot! Out of curiosity, is 'y' really different from 'yellow'? The first plot has them as different colors. Jul 26, 2016 at 14:01
  • 1
    @ComputerScientist Yes, according to this Github issue and the linked mailling list discussion, the single letter colors were assigned RBG values based on their Matlab counterpart, while the full name correspond to the HTML colors. Matlab single letter colors currently also follows the HTML standard, so I am not sure if that is a recent Matlab change or if the matplotlib single letter colors were tweaked/chosen for reasons such as visibility, which was also mentioned in the discussions. Aug 1, 2016 at 23:12
  • @AdrianTorrie: you could award a bounty of your own choosing as an additional 'Thanks' ! A bounty award super-highlights this answer, and gives answerer additional points. Jun 18, 2017 at 22:35
  • @joelostblom, in the plot of the xkcd colors, how did you get the hex codes to display in grey, beside the color name (in black)?
    – MMelnicki
    Apr 25, 2019 at 18:24
  • @MMelnicki You can use matplotlib.colors.to_hex to get the hex code of any color. Jun 14, 2019 at 21:30
340

Matplotlib uses a dictionary from its colors.py module.

To print the names use:

# python2:

import matplotlib
for name, hex in matplotlib.colors.cnames.iteritems():
    print(name, hex)

# python3:

import matplotlib
for name, hex in matplotlib.colors.cnames.items():
    print(name, hex)

This is the complete dictionary:

cnames = {
'aliceblue':            '#F0F8FF',
'antiquewhite':         '#FAEBD7',
'aqua':                 '#00FFFF',
'aquamarine':           '#7FFFD4',
'azure':                '#F0FFFF',
'beige':                '#F5F5DC',
'bisque':               '#FFE4C4',
'black':                '#000000',
'blanchedalmond':       '#FFEBCD',
'blue':                 '#0000FF',
'blueviolet':           '#8A2BE2',
'brown':                '#A52A2A',
'burlywood':            '#DEB887',
'cadetblue':            '#5F9EA0',
'chartreuse':           '#7FFF00',
'chocolate':            '#D2691E',
'coral':                '#FF7F50',
'cornflowerblue':       '#6495ED',
'cornsilk':             '#FFF8DC',
'crimson':              '#DC143C',
'cyan':                 '#00FFFF',
'darkblue':             '#00008B',
'darkcyan':             '#008B8B',
'darkgoldenrod':        '#B8860B',
'darkgray':             '#A9A9A9',
'darkgreen':            '#006400',
'darkkhaki':            '#BDB76B',
'darkmagenta':          '#8B008B',
'darkolivegreen':       '#556B2F',
'darkorange':           '#FF8C00',
'darkorchid':           '#9932CC',
'darkred':              '#8B0000',
'darksalmon':           '#E9967A',
'darkseagreen':         '#8FBC8F',
'darkslateblue':        '#483D8B',
'darkslategray':        '#2F4F4F',
'darkturquoise':        '#00CED1',
'darkviolet':           '#9400D3',
'deeppink':             '#FF1493',
'deepskyblue':          '#00BFFF',
'dimgray':              '#696969',
'dodgerblue':           '#1E90FF',
'firebrick':            '#B22222',
'floralwhite':          '#FFFAF0',
'forestgreen':          '#228B22',
'fuchsia':              '#FF00FF',
'gainsboro':            '#DCDCDC',
'ghostwhite':           '#F8F8FF',
'gold':                 '#FFD700',
'goldenrod':            '#DAA520',
'gray':                 '#808080',
'green':                '#008000',
'greenyellow':          '#ADFF2F',
'honeydew':             '#F0FFF0',
'hotpink':              '#FF69B4',
'indianred':            '#CD5C5C',
'indigo':               '#4B0082',
'ivory':                '#FFFFF0',
'khaki':                '#F0E68C',
'lavender':             '#E6E6FA',
'lavenderblush':        '#FFF0F5',
'lawngreen':            '#7CFC00',
'lemonchiffon':         '#FFFACD',
'lightblue':            '#ADD8E6',
'lightcoral':           '#F08080',
'lightcyan':            '#E0FFFF',
'lightgoldenrodyellow': '#FAFAD2',
'lightgreen':           '#90EE90',
'lightgray':            '#D3D3D3',
'lightpink':            '#FFB6C1',
'lightsalmon':          '#FFA07A',
'lightseagreen':        '#20B2AA',
'lightskyblue':         '#87CEFA',
'lightslategray':       '#778899',
'lightsteelblue':       '#B0C4DE',
'lightyellow':          '#FFFFE0',
'lime':                 '#00FF00',
'limegreen':            '#32CD32',
'linen':                '#FAF0E6',
'magenta':              '#FF00FF',
'maroon':               '#800000',
'mediumaquamarine':     '#66CDAA',
'mediumblue':           '#0000CD',
'mediumorchid':         '#BA55D3',
'mediumpurple':         '#9370DB',
'mediumseagreen':       '#3CB371',
'mediumslateblue':      '#7B68EE',
'mediumspringgreen':    '#00FA9A',
'mediumturquoise':      '#48D1CC',
'mediumvioletred':      '#C71585',
'midnightblue':         '#191970',
'mintcream':            '#F5FFFA',
'mistyrose':            '#FFE4E1',
'moccasin':             '#FFE4B5',
'navajowhite':          '#FFDEAD',
'navy':                 '#000080',
'oldlace':              '#FDF5E6',
'olive':                '#808000',
'olivedrab':            '#6B8E23',
'orange':               '#FFA500',
'orangered':            '#FF4500',
'orchid':               '#DA70D6',
'palegoldenrod':        '#EEE8AA',
'palegreen':            '#98FB98',
'paleturquoise':        '#AFEEEE',
'palevioletred':        '#DB7093',
'papayawhip':           '#FFEFD5',
'peachpuff':            '#FFDAB9',
'peru':                 '#CD853F',
'pink':                 '#FFC0CB',
'plum':                 '#DDA0DD',
'powderblue':           '#B0E0E6',
'purple':               '#800080',
'red':                  '#FF0000',
'rosybrown':            '#BC8F8F',
'royalblue':            '#4169E1',
'saddlebrown':          '#8B4513',
'salmon':               '#FA8072',
'sandybrown':           '#FAA460',
'seagreen':             '#2E8B57',
'seashell':             '#FFF5EE',
'sienna':               '#A0522D',
'silver':               '#C0C0C0',
'skyblue':              '#87CEEB',
'slateblue':            '#6A5ACD',
'slategray':            '#708090',
'snow':                 '#FFFAFA',
'springgreen':          '#00FF7F',
'steelblue':            '#4682B4',
'tan':                  '#D2B48C',
'teal':                 '#008080',
'thistle':              '#D8BFD8',
'tomato':               '#FF6347',
'turquoise':            '#40E0D0',
'violet':               '#EE82EE',
'wheat':                '#F5DEB3',
'white':                '#FFFFFF',
'whitesmoke':           '#F5F5F5',
'yellow':               '#FFFF00',
'yellowgreen':          '#9ACD32'}

You could plot them like this:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import matplotlib.patches as patches
import matplotlib.colors as colors
import math


fig = plt.figure()
ax = fig.add_subplot(111)

ratio = 1.0 / 3.0
count = math.ceil(math.sqrt(len(colors.cnames)))
x_count = count * ratio
y_count = count / ratio
x = 0
y = 0
w = 1 / x_count
h = 1 / y_count

for c in colors.cnames:
    pos = (x / x_count, y / y_count)
    ax.add_patch(patches.Rectangle(pos, w, h, color=c))
    ax.annotate(c, xy=pos)
    if y >= y_count-1:
        x += 1
        y = 0
    else:
        y += 1

plt.show()
3
  • 2
    Thanks for the answer, that was exactly what I was looking for. I think in combination with @Joe Kington's comment, pretty much all the bases are covered. Mar 14, 2014 at 17:55
  • If you want a quick look at the visual list of named colors online: matplotlib.org/examples/color/named_colors.html Mar 21, 2018 at 22:37
  • You overwrote the built-in hex with your loop. Call the variable "hexa" or "value", not "hex".
    – Guimoute
    Feb 9 at 11:26
149

In addition to BoshWash's answer, here is the picture generated by his code:

Named colors

20

To get a full list of colors to use in plots:

import matplotlib.colors as colors
colors_list = list(colors._colors_full_map.values())

So, you can use in that way quickly:

scatter(X,Y, color=colors_list[0])
scatter(X,Y, color=colors_list[1])
scatter(X,Y, color=colors_list[2])
...
scatter(X,Y, color=colors_list[-1])
0
0
import matplotlib.colors as mcolors

list(mcolors.BASE_COLORS.values())
-1

You can use this dictionary which have most of colors.

z = {
    'Black': (0, 0, 0),
    'White': (255, 255, 255),
    'Red': (255, 0, 0),
    'Lime': (0, 255, 0),
    'Blue': (0, 0, 255),
    'Yellow': (255 ,255, 0),
    'Cyan': (0, 255, 255),
    'Fuchsia': (255, 0, 255),
    'Silver': (192, 192, 192),
    'Gray': (128, 128, 128),
    'Maroon': (128, 0, 0),
    'Olive': (128, 128, 0),
    'Green': (0, 128, 0),
    'Purple': (128, 0, 128),
    'Teal': (0, 128, 128),
    'Navy': (0, 0, 128),
}
1
  • Welcome to Stack Overflow. Code is a lot more helpful when it is accompanied by an explanation. Stack Overflow is about learning, not providing snippets to blindly copy and paste. Please edit your question and explain how it answers the specific question being asked. See How to Answer.
    – Chris
    Mar 13, 2022 at 23:21

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