Brown
brown · #A52A2A
HEX
#A52A2A
RGB
rgb(165, 42, 42)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 75%, 75%, 35%)
HSL
hsl(0, 59%, 41%)
LAB
lab(37.5, 49.7, 30.5)
What is Brown?
Brown is the brown reference in the CSS Named Colors. Its sRGB value is #A52A2A (rgb 165, 42, 42). It sits in the red family. The 147 named colors defined by the W3C CSS Color Module Level 4 specification — usable directly in CSS as keywords like 'crimson' or 'rebeccapurple'. See disclaimer for accuracy and trademark notes.
Accessibility
WCAG 2.1 contrast checks for Brown as a background.
Black text on this color
White text on this color
Shades, tints & tonal scale of Brown
An 11-step tonal scale derived from Brown (#A52A2A). Click any swatch to copy its HEX. Use these as a starting point for design tokens, hover states, and disabled states in a design system.
50
#F8EEEE
#F8EEEE
100
#F1DDDD
#F1DDDD
200
#E2BBBB
#E2BBBB
300
#D29595
#D29595
400
#BC5F5F
#BC5F5F
500
#A52A2A
#A52A2A
600
#8C2424
#8C2424
700
#6B1B1B
#6B1B1B
800
#4A1313
#4A1313
900
#290B0B
#290B0B
950
#140505
#140505
Lighter tints (mixed with white)
15%
#B67272
30%
#C69898
45%
#D4B5B5
60%
#E1CDCD
75%
#EDE1E1
Darker shades (mixed with black)
15%
#992626
30%
#8C2222
45%
#7E1E1E
60%
#6C1818
75%
#561111
Color harmonies for Brown
Classic color-theory harmonies derived from rotating the hue of Brown. Use these to build accent palettes, brand systems, and accessible UI color pairings.
Complementary
180° opposite — strongest contrast
#A52A2A
#A52A2A
#2BA6A6
#2BA6A6
Triadic
Three colors 120° apart
#A52A2A
#A52A2A
#2BA62B
#2BA62B
#2B2BA6
#2B2BA6
Analogous
Two neighbors ±30° on the wheel
#A62B69
#A62B69
#A52A2A
#A52A2A
#A6692B
#A6692B
Split-complementary
Base + two colors flanking its complement
#A52A2A
#A52A2A
#2BA669
#2BA669
#2B69A6
#2B69A6
Tetradic
Two complementary pairs
#A52A2A
#A52A2A
#A6A62B
#A6A62B
#2BA6A6
#2BA6A6
#2B2BA6
#2B2BA6
Square
Four colors evenly spaced 90° apart
#A52A2A
#A52A2A
#69A62B
#69A62B
#2BA6A6
#2BA6A6
#692BA6
#692BA6
Brown in every color space
Full conversion of Brown across the color spaces designers and developers actually use — including OKLCH (the perceptually-uniform space that powers Tailwind v4 and CSS Color Module Level 4) and HWB.
HEX
#A52A2A
RGB
rgb(165, 42, 42)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 75%, 75%, 35%)
HSL
hsl(0, 59%, 41%)
HSV
hsv(0, 75%, 65%)
HWB
hwb(0 16% 35%)
CIE Lab
lab(37.5 49.7 30.5)
OKLCH
oklch(48.1% 0.160 25.6)
XYZ (D65)
xyz(16.76, 9.83, 3.20)
Copy-ready code for Brown
Drop-in snippets for CSS, Tailwind, Sass, iOS Swift, and Android XML. Click the copy button on any snippet to put it on your clipboard.
CSS
color: #A52A2A;
background-color: #A52A2A;CSS variable
:root {
--color-brown: #A52A2A;
}Tailwind config
// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
'brown': '#A52A2A',
}Sass
$color-brown: #A52A2A;Swift UIColor
UIColor(red: 0.647, green: 0.165, blue: 0.165, alpha: 1.0)Android XML
<color name="brown">#A52A2A</color>Closest match in every color system
The nearest Brown equivalent in every other color system on this site, ranked by ΔE2000 perceptual distance. Useful when translating between design-system, web-standard, and industrial color references.
Closest in CSS Named Colors
Top 6 ΔE2000-closest entries within the same collection.
Closest Pantone matches
Top 6 ΔE2000-closest Pantone references. Cross-system matching is approximate — see disclaimer.
Closest RAL Classic matches
Top 6 ΔE2000-closest RAL Classic references for industrial coating cross-reference.
RAL 3031
#B32428
Orient red
RAL 3002
#A2231D
Carmine red
RAL 3001
#A52019
Signal red
RAL 3003
#9B111E
Ruby red
RAL 3016
#B32821
Coral red
RAL 3000
#AF2B1E
Flame red
FAQ about Brown
What is the HEX code for Brown?
Brown (brown) has the HEX code #A52A2A. In RGB it is rgb(165, 42, 42), and in CMYK it is cmyk(0%, 75%, 75%, 35%).
What is the OKLCH value of Brown?
Brown converts to oklch(0.481 0.160 25.6). OKLCH is the perceptually uniform color space used by Tailwind v4 and CSS Color Module Level 4.
Is Brown accessible for body text?
Used as a background, Brown has a contrast ratio of 2.96:1 with black text and 7.08:1 with white text. WCAG 2.1 AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text. The current recommendation is to use white text and verify in real UI context.
What is the closest Pantone to Brown?
The closest Pantone reference to Brown by ΔE2000 perceptual distance is Pantone 187 C (#A6192E). Cross-system Pantone matching is approximate; for color-critical print work, verify with a physical Pantone guide.
What is the closest RAL color to Brown?
The closest RAL Classic reference to Brown by ΔE2000 distance is RAL 3031 (Orient red, #B32428). RAL is a German industrial coating standard commonly used for paint, powder coat, and architectural specification.
What is the complementary color of Brown?
The complementary color (180° opposite on the HSL color wheel) of Brown is #2BA6A6. Use it for high-contrast accents, error states, or call-to-action pairings.
Data provenance & source
CSS Named Colors (CSS Color Module Level 4)
The 147 named colors defined by the W3C CSS Color Module Level 4 specification. Origin: VGA (16) + X11 (rest) + 'rebeccapurple'. Use as a reference for web color names that all browsers natively support. Names like 'crimson' or 'rebeccapurple' work as CSS values without any framework.
- Source type
- derived
- Confidence
- high
- License
- W3C permissive document license
- Last reviewed
- 2026-05-24
Workflow tags
CSS named colors are sRGB digital values defined for browsers. For print, convert to a process-appropriate color and proof against substrate.