Many colour names originate from a specific plant, animal, mineral or place — 'orange' from the fruit, 'magenta' from an 1859 battle, 'ultramarine' literally meaning 'beyond the sea' — rather than being abstract labels invented for the colour itself.
The English word 'orange' as a colour name post-dates the fruit name; before it entered English, orange-coloured things were typically described as a shade of red.
Naming · English language
'Magenta' commemorates the 1859 Battle of Magenta in northern Italy, around the time a vivid new aniline dye of this colour was commercialised in Europe.
Naming · 1859
'Ultramarine' comes from the Latin for 'beyond the sea', referring to the pigment's historical import route from lapis lazuli mines in present-day Afghanistan into Europe.
Naming · Europe
Some colour names are directly named for a gemstone, flower or material whose colour they resemble (turquoise, amethyst, lavender, amber), a naming pattern that recurs across many languages, not only English.
Naming · multiple languages
Historical claims above are scoped to a specific period, region or culture where relevant — none are presented as a single universal fact. See methodology.