Skip to content
PantoneTools
purple
X11 named colors

Purple4

purple4 · #551A8B

HEX

#551A8B

RGB

rgb(85, 26, 139)

CMYK

cmyk(39%, 81%, 0%, 45%)

HSL

hsl(271, 68%, 32%)

LAB

lab(25.4, 47.7, -50.9)

What is Purple4?

Purple4 is the purple4 reference in the X11 named colors. Its sRGB value is #551A8B (rgb 85, 26, 139). It sits in the purple family. Historical X Window System color names — the numbered 1-4 lightness variants of the classic xorg-server rgb.txt palette. See disclaimer for accuracy and trademark notes.

Accessibility

WCAG 2.1 contrast checks for Purple4 as a background.

Black text on this color

Sample text · 1.91 : 1
AA Normal
AA Large
AAA Normal
AAA Large

White text on this color

Sample text · 11.01 : 1
AA Normal
AA Large
AAA Normal
AAA Large

Shades, tints & tonal scale of Purple4

An 11-step tonal scale derived from Purple4 (#551A8B). 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.

Copied #F1EDF6

50

#F1EDF6

#F1EDF6

Copied #E4DAEC

100

#E4DAEC

#E4DAEC

Copied #C9B6DA

200

#C9B6DA

#C9B6DA

Copied #AA8DC5

300

#AA8DC5

#AA8DC5

Copied #8053A8

400

#8053A8

#8053A8

Copied #551A8B

500

#551A8B

#551A8B

Copied #481676

600

#481676

#481676

Copied #37115A

700

#37115A

#37115A

Copied #260C3F

800

#260C3F

#260C3F

Copied #150723

900

#150723

#150723

Copied #0A0311

950

#0A0311

#0A0311

Lighter tints (mixed with white)

Copied #836FA4

15%

#836FA4

Copied #A297B8

30%

#A297B8

Copied #BCB4CA

45%

#BCB4CA

Copied #D1CCDA

60%

#D1CCDA

Copied #E4E1E9

75%

#E4E1E9

Darker shades (mixed with black)

Copied #4F1781

15%

#4F1781

Copied #471476

30%

#471476

Copied #3F1169

45%

#3F1169

Copied #360D5A

60%

#360D5A

Copied #2A0948

75%

#2A0948

Color harmonies for Purple4

Classic color-theory harmonies derived from rotating the hue of Purple4. Use these to build accent palettes, brand systems, and accessible UI color pairings.

Complementary

180° opposite — strongest contrast

Copied #551A8B

#551A8B

#551A8B

Copied #50891A

#50891A

#50891A

Triadic

Three colors 120° apart

Copied #551A8B

#551A8B

#551A8B

Copied #89531A

#89531A

#89531A

Copied #1A8953

#1A8953

#1A8953

Analogous

Two neighbors ±30° on the wheel

Copied #1C1A89

#1C1A89

#1C1A89

Copied #551A8B

#551A8B

#551A8B

Copied #891A87

#891A87

#891A87

Split-complementary

Base + two colors flanking its complement

Copied #551A8B

#551A8B

#551A8B

Copied #87891A

#87891A

#87891A

Copied #1A891C

#1A891C

#1A891C

Tetradic

Two complementary pairs

Copied #551A8B

#551A8B

#551A8B

Copied #891A50

#891A50

#891A50

Copied #50891A

#50891A

#50891A

Copied #1A8953

#1A8953

#1A8953

Square

Four colors evenly spaced 90° apart

Copied #551A8B

#551A8B

#551A8B

Copied #891C1A

#891C1A

#891C1A

Copied #50891A

#50891A

#50891A

Copied #1A8789

#1A8789

#1A8789

Purple4 in every color space

Full conversion of Purple4 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

#551A8B

RGB

rgb(85, 26, 139)

CMYK

cmyk(39%, 81%, 0%, 45%)

HSL

hsl(271, 68%, 32%)

HSV

hsv(271, 81%, 55%)

HWB

hwb(271 10% 45%)

CIE Lab

lab(25.4 47.7 -50.9)

OKLCH

oklch(37.8% 0.172 302.2)

XYZ (D65)

xyz(8.77, 4.53, 24.83)

Copy-ready code for Purple4

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: #551A8B;
background-color: #551A8B;

CSS variable

:root {
  --color-purple4: #551A8B;
}

Tailwind config

// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
  'purple4': '#551A8B',
}

Sass

$color-purple4: #551A8B;

Swift UIColor

UIColor(red: 0.333, green: 0.102, blue: 0.545, alpha: 1.0)

Android XML

<color name="purple4">#551A8B</color>

Closest match in every color system

The nearest Purple4 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 X11 named colors

Top 6 ΔE2000-closest entries within the same collection.

Top 6 ΔE2000-closest Pantone references. Cross-system matching is approximate — see disclaimer.

Top 6 ΔE2000-closest RAL Classic references for industrial coating cross-reference.

Copied #1E2460

RAL 5005

#1E2460

Signal blue

Copied #20214F

RAL 5002

#20214F

Ultramarine blue

Copied #6C4675

RAL 4005

#6C4675

Blue lilac

Copied #252850

RAL 5022

#252850

Night blue

Copied #343E40

RAL 6012

#343E40

Black green

Copied #293133

RAL 7016

#293133

Anthracite grey

FAQ about Purple4

What is the HEX code for Purple4?

Purple4 (purple4) has the HEX code #551A8B. In RGB it is rgb(85, 26, 139), and in CMYK it is cmyk(39%, 81%, 0%, 45%).

What is the OKLCH value of Purple4?

Purple4 converts to oklch(0.378 0.172 302.2). OKLCH is the perceptually uniform color space used by Tailwind v4 and CSS Color Module Level 4.

Is Purple4 accessible for body text?

Used as a background, Purple4 has a contrast ratio of 1.91:1 with black text and 11.01:1 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 Purple4?

The closest Pantone reference to Purple4 by ΔE2000 perceptual distance is Pantone 267 C (#5F249F). Cross-system Pantone matching is approximate; for color-critical print work, verify with a physical Pantone guide.

What is the closest RAL color to Purple4?

The closest RAL Classic reference to Purple4 by ΔE2000 distance is RAL 5005 (Signal blue, #1E2460). RAL is a German industrial coating standard commonly used for paint, powder coat, and architectural specification.

What is the complementary color of Purple4?

The complementary color (180° opposite on the HSL color wheel) of Purple4 is #50891A. Use it for high-contrast accents, error states, or call-to-action pairings.

Data provenance & source

X11 named colors (xorg rgb.txt)

The historical X11 color name list shipped in the xorg-server rgb.txt file. Roughly 550 entries covering classic computing color names like 'PapayaWhip', 'MediumAquamarine', and 'DarkSlateGray'. Many CSS named colors originate here. Use as a reference for legacy and creative color names. Most modern CSS implementations accept these names directly.

Source type
derived
Confidence
high
License
MIT/X11 license (X Consortium)
Last reviewed
2026-05-24

Workflow tags

x11
named-color
legacy
purple

X11 colors are sRGB digital values from a 1980s color system. For print, convert to a process-appropriate color and proof against substrate.

X11 named colors · Purple4 — #551A8B | PantoneTools