#51238B Color

#51238B is rgb(81, 35, 139) in RGB, hsl(267, 60%, 34%) in HSL, and about cmyk(42%, 75%, 0%, 45%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is KSU Purple (#512888), very hard to tell apart at ΔE 4.41. White text is the more readable choice on this background.

#51238B

HEX#51238B

RGBrgb(81, 35, 139)

HSLhsl(267, 60%, 34%)

HSVhsv(267, 75%, 55%)

CMYKcmyk(42%, 75%, 0%, 45%)

OKLCHoklch(38.3% 0.161 298.6)

LABlab(25.57% 38.27 -50.31)

LCHlch(25.57% 63.21 307.26)

What #51238B Is Called

Most hex codes have no name: there are 16.7 million of them and a few thousand registered names. These are the named colors nearest to #51238B, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

KSU Purple#512888ΔE 4.41 Rebecca Purple#663399ΔE 7.31 Spanish Violet#4C2882ΔE 7.59 Purple Heart#69359CΔE 8.18 Persian Indigo#32127AΔE 9.36 Indigo#4B0082ΔE 11.26

Browse the full index of named colors A-Z or every purple in the library.

#51238B Channel Values

How #51238B breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

Model	Channels	Notes
RGB	R 81 · G 35 · B 139	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 267° · S 60% · L 34%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 267° · S 75% · V 55%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 42% · M 75% · Y 0% · K 45%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	10.7:1 vs white · 1.96:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #51238B background. AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text; AAA requires 7:1. Contrast is one check, not a full accessibility review.

TextWhite text10.7:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Fails AABlack text1.96:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #51238B in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #51238B

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #51238B; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base

Complementary

Analogous

Analogous

Triadic

Triadic

Split comp.

Split comp.

Tints & Shades of #51238B

Lighter tints and darker shades built by moving the lightness channel while holding hue and saturation, which is what you want for hover states, backgrounds, and text variants.

Tints

Shades

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #51238B.

How #51238B Looks with Color Vision Deficiency

Simulated with the Viénot, Brettel & Mollon LMS projection model. Anomalous types are rendered as partial versions of the matching dichromacy, which is an approximation rather than a per-person clinical model.

Typical#51238B

Protanopia#2F2F8B

Protanomaly#3F2A8B

Deuteranopia#37378B

Deuteranomaly#43308B

Tritanopia#403D3D

Tritanomaly#473566

Achromatopsia#3E3E3E

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #51238B in Code

Copy-ready declarations for the places this color usually ends up.

CSS custom property--color-51238b: #51238B;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #51238B;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-51238b': '#51238B' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.318, green: 0.137, blue: 0.545)

Android XML<color name="color_51238b">#51238B</color>

SVG fillfill="#51238B"

More Purple Colors

#51238B sits in the purple family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

150024 fdf8ff 170b22 fdf4ff 1b0d35 faf5ff 1d0731 fae8ff 1e0033 f6cfff 20002e f3e8ff 300052 402060 541490 6600cc 7008e7 8806ce 9900cc a11fff b19cd9 c27aff cebeef e0b2eb

#51238B Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #51238B?

#51238B is a dark purple — rgb(81, 35, 139) in RGB and hsl(267, 60%, 34%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is KSU Purple (#512888), which is very hard to tell apart at a CIE76 distance of 4.41.

What is the RGB value of #51238B?

#51238B is rgb(81, 35, 139) — red 81, green 35, and blue 139 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #51238B?

#51238B converts to approximately cmyk(42%, 75%, 0%, 45%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #51238B be black or white?

White text is the more readable choice. #51238B scores 10.7:1 against white and 1.96:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #51238B as a CSS color keyword?

No. #51238B is not one of the CSS color keywords, so it has to be written as a hex, rgb() or hsl() value. The closest keyword is rebeccapurple (#663399) at a CIE76 distance of 7.31, which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side.

Open #51238B in a Tool

Hex to RGB Hex to HSL Hex to CMYK Hex to OKLCH Hex to Pantone Build a palette Make a gradient

Keep exploring: every purple in the color library, the guide to shades of purple, or the full color library.