#856C9D Color

#856C9D is rgb(133, 108, 157) in RGB, hsl(271, 20%, 52%) in HSL, and about cmyk(15%, 31%, 0%, 38%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is French Lilac (#86608E), clearly related but distinguishable side by side at ΔE 6.77. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#856C9D

HEX#856C9D

RGBrgb(133, 108, 157)

HSLhsl(271, 20%, 52%)

HSVhsv(271, 31%, 62%)

CMYKcmyk(15%, 31%, 0%, 38%)

OKLCHoklch(57.4% 0.079 307.4)

LABlab(49.51% 17.62 -22.90)

LCHlch(49.51% 28.89 307.57)

What #856C9D 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 #856C9D, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

French Lilac#86608EΔE 6.77 Lavender Purple#967BB6ΔE 8.06 Chinese Violet#856088ΔE 8.35 Purple Mountain Majesty#9678B6ΔE 8.77 Heather#9E7BB5ΔE 8.93 Dark Blue-gray#666699ΔE 10.68

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

#856C9D Channel Values

How #856C9D 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 133 · G 108 · B 157	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 271° · S 20% · L 52%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 271° · S 31% · V 62%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 15% · M 31% · Y 0% · K 38%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	4.54:1 vs white · 4.63:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #856C9D 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 text4.54:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

TextBlack text4.63:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #856C9D in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #856C9D

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #856C9D; 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 #856C9D

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 #856C9D.

How #856C9D 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#856C9D

Protanopia#71719D

Protanomaly#796F9D

Deuteranopia#75759D

Deuteranomaly#7C729D

Tritanopia#7F7474

Tritanomaly#817186

Achromatopsia#767676

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #856C9D in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-856c9d: #856C9D;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #856C9D;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-856c9d': '#856C9D' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.522, green: 0.424, blue: 0.616)

Android XML<color name="color_856c9d">#856C9D</color>

SVG fillfill="#856C9D"

More Purple Colors

#856C9D 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

#856C9D Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #856C9D?

#856C9D is a mid-tone purple — rgb(133, 108, 157) in RGB and hsl(271, 20%, 52%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is French Lilac (#86608E), which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side at a CIE76 distance of 6.77.

What is the RGB value of #856C9D?

#856C9D is rgb(133, 108, 157) — red 133, green 108, and blue 157 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #856C9D?

#856C9D converts to approximately cmyk(15%, 31%, 0%, 38%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #856C9D be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #856C9D scores 4.54:1 against white and 4.63:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #856C9D as a CSS color keyword?

No. #856C9D 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 slategray (#708090) at a CIE76 distance of 24.39, which is visibly different.

Open #856C9D 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.