A client asks for "a natural green" for their wellness brand. One designer sends a forest green. Another sends sage. A third sends emerald. All three are technically green. All three are wrong for each other's intent. Green color names carry more specificity than the word "green" alone implies, and getting the shade family wrong leads to a palette that reads entirely differently from the brief.
The green family is one of the widest on the color spectrum. It stretches from near-yellow (chartreuse, lime) through vivid mid-greens (kelly, emerald) to dark natural greens (forest, hunter) and into blue-adjacent territory (teal, seafoam). Each sub-family has recognized names used across design, fashion, interior design, and CSS. The color name finder matches any green hex against the full CSS named color set using Delta-E perceptual matching, which is useful when you have a hex and want to know what the standard vocabulary calls it.
This guide covers every green shade family, the specific names designers use, hex codes, and how the CSS named greens map to everyday vocabulary.
How Green Color Names Are Organized
Green sits between yellow and blue on the color wheel. This position means green shades can lean warmer (toward yellow) or cooler (toward blue), and that dimension explains more about a green's visual character than depth alone.
The three axes that organize green color names are hue lean (yellow-green vs. blue-green vs. pure green), depth (light vs. mid vs. dark), and saturation (vivid vs. muted).
Most naming in design uses hue lean as the primary category. Lime and chartreuse describe the yellow-leaning family. Teal and seafoam describe the blue-leaning family. Forest, hunter, and olive describe the darker pure-green range. Within each, depth and saturation create subcategories.
The one point that causes consistent confusion: CSS "green" (#008000) is not the vivid mid-range green most people picture. CSS green at #008000 is a medium-dark, moderately saturated green that reads as muted. The fully saturated pure green in CSS is named "lime" at #00FF00. Most designers who reach for "green" in CSS are actually looking for lime, limegreen, or mediumseagreen.
Light Green Color Names: Mint, Honeydew, and Pale Greens
Light greens are high-brightness, usually low-to-medium saturation greens. They carry a fresh, soft, or delicate visual quality.
Honeydew: CSS honeydew is #F0FFF0, a near-white pale green. It is one of the palest named CSS colors and reads as white with a green tint rather than a distinct green.
Mintcream: CSS mintcream is #F5FFFA, another near-white with a very faint cool green. Slightly more blue than honeydew.
Mint green: True mint green sits around #AAF0D1 to #D0F0C0 in common use. Mint implies freshness and a slight coolness. The palest mint versions overlap with honeydew; the richer mint versions are closer to a light seafoam.
Pale green: CSS palegreen is #98FB98, a clearly visible light green with moderate saturation. One of the more usable light named greens in CSS for design work.
Light green: CSS lightgreen is #90EE90, similar to palegreen in depth and slightly warmer. Both sit in the soft mid-light range.
Celadon: Not a CSS named color, but widely used in interior design and ceramic glazes. Celadon describes a pale, slightly gray-green, approximately #ACE1AF. It carries an understated quality that mint does not.
Pistachio: A warm pale green with slight yellow warmth, approximately #93C572. Pistachio in design implies the pale warm green of the nut's inner meat. It sits between mint and sage in temperature.
Yellow-Green Color Names: Lime, Chartreuse, and the Vivid End
The yellow-green family is where green meets yellow on the color wheel. These are the most energetic greens, highest in visual impact and hardest to use as dominant palette colors.
Lime: CSS lime is #00FF00, the fully saturated pure yellow-green at maximum brightness. It is one of the most vivid colors in the CSS set. Most design uses of "vivid green" land here.
Limegreen: CSS limegreen is #32CD32, a vivid medium yellow-green, darker than lime and more usable in most design contexts. This is the green most people picture when they think "bright green."
Chartreuse: CSS chartreuse is #7FFF00, a vivid yellow-leaning green that sits almost exactly between yellow and green on the color wheel. It is the most yellow of the named green CSS colors and is notoriously difficult to pair. CSS chartreuse looks nothing like what most people expect when they hear the word, which is usually associated with the French liqueur's more muted yellow-green.
Yellowgreen: CSS yellowgreen is #9ACD32, a medium yellow-green with lower saturation than limegreen. This is a more usable, less aggressive yellow-green for design work.
Lawn green: CSS lawngreen is #7CFC00, a vivid yellow-green similar to chartreuse but slightly warmer. It is named for the bright green of well-fertilized grass under strong sun.
Apple green: Not a CSS named color, but commonly used to describe a warm vivid green approximately #8DB600 to #55BF3B. Apple green implies the specific warm yellow-green of a ripe Granny Smith apple.
Acid green / Electric lime: These describe neon-intensity versions of yellow-green in fashion and graphic design contexts, approximately #B0BF1A to #CCFF00. They are used as accent colors in high-energy branding.
Medium Green Color Names: Kelly, Emerald, and Vivid Mid-Greens
The mid-range pure greens are what most people picture as "green." These are the vivid, clearly green colors with no strong yellow or blue lean.
Kelly green: A vivid, saturated medium green named after the bright green associated with Ireland. Approximate hex: #4CBB17. Kelly green is distinctly vivid and warm-leaning. It is not a CSS named color.
Emerald: A vivid deep green with a slight blue lean. No CSS named emerald exists. Approximate hex: #50C878. Emerald sits between the medium vivid greens and the darker greens in depth while staying saturated. Pantone's Emerald Green (2013 Color of the Year) is the most widely cited reference. A full breakdown of emerald is in the gemstone and metallic color names guide.
Medium sea green: CSS mediumseagreen is #3CB371, a vivid medium green with a slight warmth. This is one of the most design-usable named CSS greens, sitting in the readable mid-range between lime green and forest green.
Sea green: CSS seagreen is #2E8B57, a medium-dark green with a slight blue-cool lean. Slightly darker than mediumseagreen, it functions as a versatile mid-dark green in design.
Medium green (#4CAF50): The hex code #4CAF50 is widely used in Material Design as the standard green accent. It is not a CSS named color. The nearest CSS match is mediumseagreen (#3CB371), which is slightly darker and more saturated. #4CAF50 reads as a medium vivid green, warmer than seagreen and darker than limegreen.
Jade: A medium green with a gray-cool quality. In design, jade describes a medium slightly muted green, approximately #00A86B. More understated than emerald, carrying a sophisticated quality.
Dark Green Color Names: Forest, Hunter, and Deep Shades
Dark greens are the naturalistic, grounded end of the spectrum. They work well as neutral-adjacent colors in design palettes because their darkness mutes their vivid quality.
Forest green: CSS forestgreen is #228B22, a dark moderately saturated green that reads as natural and woodsy. This is the hex behind the CSS name that most accurately matches what designers mean by "forest green" in everyday use. Dark enough to pair well with light neutrals, saturated enough to read clearly as green.
Dark green: CSS darkgreen is #006400, a very dark green with strong saturation. Darker than forest green with no gray quality. At this depth, dark green reads as near-black in many contexts and requires care in small sizes.
Hunter green: A vivid dark green with no blue or yellow lean, approximately #355E3B. Hunter green implies the specific deep green associated with hunting attire. It is not a CSS named color. More vivid and saturated than forest green.
Bottle green: A dark green with a slight blue lean, approximately #006A4E. Bottle green implies the specific dark green of wine bottle glass. It is cooler than hunter green and has a sophisticated, restrained quality.
Racing green (British racing green): A very dark, slightly warm green historically associated with British motorsport, approximately #004225. It reads as near-black in low light. One of the most recognizable specific dark greens in brand and product design.
Pine green: A medium-dark blue-green, approximately #01796F. Pine implies the dark, slightly cool green of pine needles in low light. It sits at the boundary between dark green and dark teal.
Blue-Green Color Names: Teal, Seafoam, and Aqua-Adjacent Greens
Blue-greens are the coolest greens, containing equal or near-equal proportions of blue and green. These are the greens that read well alongside blues and cool neutrals.
Teal: CSS teal is #008080, an equal-parts blue-green at medium depth. Teal is one of the most versatile cool colors in design and one of the most precisely defined in CSS. It is darker and more muted than aqua but brighter and warmer than dark teal variants.
Dark teal: No CSS named dark teal exists. Dark teal in design describes a deep blue-green in the #005555 to #007777 range. It functions as a sophisticated, cool dark neutral.
Seafoam: A pale, light blue-green with a soft quality, approximately #9FE2BF. Seafoam sits between mint green and aqua in both hue and brightness. It reads as fresh and airy.
Aquamarine: CSS aquamarine is #7FFFD4, a vivid pale cyan-green. This is the lightest of the named blue-greens in CSS and accurately represents the gem color.
Medium aquamarine: CSS mediumaquamarine is #66CDAA, a medium pale blue-green, deeper than aquamarine.
Turquoise: CSS turquoise is #40E0D0, a vivid medium cyan-green. More vivid and warmer than teal. In design, turquoise describes a medium vivid blue-green that reads as brighter and more energetic than teal.
Jade (blue-green variant): When jade describes the blue-green nephrite variety rather than the warm jadeite variety, it sits around #00A36C to #00A67E with a cooler quality. The blue-green versus warm-green distinction matters in design briefs.
The difference between cool and warm greens at the same depth can completely change a palette. A teal accent with blue reads as cohesive; a yellow-green accent with blue creates visual tension. The pastel, cool, and warm color names guide covers how blue-greens behave in warm versus cool palettes.
Olive and Muted Green Color Names
Olive and muted greens are the desaturated end of the green family. They carry a warmth and earthiness that vivid greens do not and function effectively as neutrals in design palettes.
Olive: CSS olive is #808000, a dark muted yellow-green that sits at equal parts red and green with no blue. Olive implies the specific color of cured olive fruit. It reads more brown than green in most contexts and is one of the warmer named CSS colors.
Olive drab: CSS olivedrab is #6B8E23, a medium-dark muted yellow-green, more distinctly green than pure olive and less muted. Widely associated with military uniform color.
Army green: Not a CSS named color, but used consistently to describe a dark, muted warm green approximately #4B5320. Military connotations make it a recognizable reference in fashion and outerwear.
Moss green: A medium, warm muted green suggesting the color of live moss, approximately #8A9A5B. More neutral and gray-warm than sage. Moss green became prominent in interior design in the mid-2020s.
Sage: A muted gray-green with a slight warm undertone, approximately #B2AC88. Sage is one of the most widely used muted greens in interior design and fashion. It sits at the warm-cool boundary: the green reads as cool, but the gray and slight yellow undertone prevent it from reading as cold.
Fern: A medium muted yellow-green suggesting natural fern fronds, approximately #71BC78. More visible green than sage but with a similar earthy quality.
Khaki (green interpretation): The CSS khaki (#F0E68C) is a pale yellow, but in military and fashion contexts, khaki describes a muted warm tan-green. The fashion khaki sits around #C3B091, which has a slight green quality depending on surroundings.
CSS Named Green Colors: The Complete Reference
| CSS Name | Hex | Visual Quality |
|---|---|---|
| honeydew | #F0FFF0 | Near-white, faint green tint |
| mintcream | #F5FFFA | Near-white, faint cool green |
| palegreen | #98FB98 | Light vivid green |
| lightgreen | #90EE90 | Light warm green |
| lime | #00FF00 | Fully saturated yellow-green |
| limegreen | #32CD32 | Vivid medium yellow-green |
| lawngreen | #7CFC00 | Vivid warm yellow-green |
| chartreuse | #7FFF00 | Vivid yellow-adjacent green |
| yellowgreen | #9ACD32 | Medium muted yellow-green |
| green | #008000 | Medium-dark pure green (NOT vivid) |
| mediumseagreen | #3CB371 | Vivid medium warm green |
| seagreen | #2E8B57 | Medium-dark slightly cool green |
| forestgreen | #228B22 | Dark natural green |
| darkgreen | #006400 | Very dark pure green |
| darkolivegreen | #556B2F | Dark muted olive-green |
| olivedrab | #6B8E23 | Medium-dark muted yellow-green |
| olive | #808000 | Dark muted warm yellow-green |
| mediumaquamarine | #66CDAA | Medium pale blue-green |
| aquamarine | #7FFFD4 | Pale vivid cyan-green |
| turquoise | #40E0D0 | Vivid medium cyan-green |
| mediumturquoise | #48D1CC | Medium vivid cyan-green |
| teal | #008080 | Medium dark equal blue-green |
| springgreen | #00FF7F | Vivid cyan-leaning green |
| mediumspringgreen | #00FA9A | Vivid pale cyan-green |
The most common mistake is using CSS "green" (#008000) when a vivid or mid-range green was intended. For vivid green, use lime (#00FF00) or limegreen (#32CD32). For a usable medium green, mediumseagreen (#3CB371) is usually the better choice than the CSS "green" name.
Choosing the Right Green for Your Design Context
Green has the widest vocabulary of any common color in design, and the right shade depends entirely on the context.
For wellness and natural brands, the mid-dark naturalistic greens work best: forest green, hunter green, sage, and emerald read as grounded and credible. Neon lime or chartreuse undermines that positioning.
For technology and fintech, emerald, teal, and medium greens work well. They are vivid enough to signal growth and confidence without the earthiness of dark greens.
For fashion and interior design in 2025 and beyond, the muted green family (sage, moss, olive, army green) is the dominant direction. These read as sophisticated and pair well with neutrals.
For data visualization, vivid mids like mediumseagreen (#3CB371) and seagreen (#2E8B57) maintain readability across different display conditions.
The palette generator creates complementary, analogous, and triadic combinations from any green hex, showing which greens pair naturally with which blues, reds, and neutrals. For extracting a specific green from a brand reference image, the image color picker returns the exact hex code. The full set of CSS named colors with perceptual matching is in the color name finder.
For understanding how any green sits in the broader warm-cool color framework, the warm and cool color names guide covers how hue temperature affects palette behavior. All color tools are available in the color tools section.
