Orange as a colour name is a relatively late addition to English, arriving with the fruit itself — before that, English speakers described the colour as a shade of red or yellow.
No single HEX value defines this entire colour family — see individual colour profiles below for specific shades.
The English word 'orange' as a colour name is documented from around the 16th century, borrowed from the name of the fruit, which itself came into English via French and ultimately Arabic/Persian trade routes.
16th century
Before 'orange' existed as a colour word, English speakers typically described orange-coloured things as a shade of red (as in 'red deer' or 'red hair', which are genuinely orange-toned).
English language
Saffron, one of the most expensive spices and dyes historically, produces a warm yellow-orange and has been used in religious dress in various cultures for its cost and vividness.
multiple regions, including South and Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean
Orange is widely used in modern high-visibility safety clothing and signage, building on its strong contrast against most natural backgrounds.
General
Painters and dyers were producing orange well before English could say so in one word. Realgar, an orange arsenic sulfide, has been found in Roman artefacts, and orange earths were in use beneath it in Renaissance paint layers. The language lagged: the fruit's name is recorded in English from the late 14th century, but 'orange colour' only from the 1510s, and until then such shades might be called citrine or saffron. The name itself is a traveller, passing from Sanskrit through Persian, Arabic, Italian and French and losing its first letter on the way. Chromium, discovered at the very end of the 18th century, then added a manufactured orange to the palette. 1, 2, 3
| Name | Kind | Period | What is known | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Realgar | Pigment | Roman period; rare in later oil painting | Orange arsenic sulfide, found as a mineral and also made artificially. Titian laid it over orange ochre for Joseph's cloak in The Holy Family with a Shepherd, about 1510. | 2 |
| Saffron | Word | the spice about 1200; the colour word by the late 14th century | Named for the dried crocus stigmas, noted for their deep orange. One of the words English used for orange shades before 'orange'. | 1 |
| Chrome orange | Pigment | 19th century | A basic lead chromate. Records of its use are rare; Renoir outlined the boat with it in La Yole, about 1879. | 3 |
| International Orange | Coating | 20th century | A colour that already existed in aerospace use when the Golden Gate Bridge's consulting architect chose a version of it for the structure. | 4 |
| When | Where | What happened | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late 14th century | England | The fruit's name is recorded, from Old French, itself from Italian and ultimately Arabic naranj and Persian narang. | 1 |
| 1510s | England | 'Orange colour' is first recorded, described as a reddish-yellow like that of the ripe fruit. | 1 |
| 1530 | Orange, on the Rhône, France | The town, whose Roman name was Arausio, became part of the Nassau principality. Through William of Orange its name later became a political colour in Ireland, though it has no evident link with the fruit. | 1 |
| 1797 | — | The discovery of chromium opened the way to chrome orange and chrome yellow, both lead chromates. | 3 |
| During the building of the Golden Gate Bridge | San Francisco, United States | Irving F. Morrow, struck by the red lead primer on the steel as the Golden Gate Bridge towers rose, specified an orange that would blend with the hills and stand out against sea and sky. | 4 |
Claim: The Dutch royal house of Orange takes its name from the fruit or the colour.
Evidence: Not supported. The dynasty's name comes from the town of Orange, called Arausio in Roman times. The etymological record suggests only that the town's name may have been reshaped under the influence of the fruit's, and notes that oranges were carried in quantity along the road through it. Two unrelated words converged, and the colour association came afterwards. 1