#C9A659 Color

#C9A659 is rgb(201, 166, 89) in RGB, hsl(41, 51%, 57%) in HSL, and about cmyk(0%, 17%, 56%, 21%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Aztec Gold (#C39953), clearly related but distinguishable side by side at ΔE 5.79. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#C9A659

HEX#C9A659

RGBrgb(201, 166, 89)

HSLhsl(41, 51%, 57%)

HSVhsv(41, 56%, 79%)

CMYKcmyk(0%, 17%, 56%, 21%)

OKLCHoklch(74.1% 0.104 85.3)

LABlab(70.13% 6.50 44.36)

LCHlch(70.13% 44.84 81.67)

What #C9A659 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 #C9A659, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Aztec Gold#C39953ΔE 5.79 Vegas Gold#C5B358ΔE 9.56 Earth Yellow#E1A95FΔE 9.62 Sunray#E3AB57ΔE 11.14 Indian Yellow#E3A857ΔE 11.69 Lanzones#E0BC5BΔE 11.81

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

#C9A659 Channel Values

How #C9A659 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 201 · G 166 · B 89	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 41° · S 51% · L 57%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 41° · S 56% · V 79%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 0% · M 17% · Y 56% · K 21%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	2.31:1 vs white · 9.08:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #C9A659 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.

Fails AAWhite text2.31:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

TextBlack text9.08:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #C9A659 in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #C9A659

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #C9A659; 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 #C9A659

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 #C9A659.

How #C9A659 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#C9A659

Protanopia#ADAD59

Protanomaly#B9AA59

Deuteranopia#B3B357

Deuteranomaly#BCAE58

Tritanopia#CE9F9F

Tritanomaly#CCA288

Achromatopsia#AAAAAA

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #C9A659 in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-c9a659: #C9A659;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #C9A659;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-c9a659': '#C9A659' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.788, green: 0.651, blue: 0.349)

Android XML<color name="color_c9a659">#C9A659</color>

SVG fillfill="#C9A659"

More Yellow Colors

#C9A659 sits in the yellow family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

181807 fffff5 1b1404 fffff0 1f1f00 ffffeb 242400 ffffe5 2a2913 ffffe0 2b2003 ffffd6 573a00 856514 b0a94f cc9900 e0e000 edeae0 f2f1e3 f8f3c9 fcfce8 ffcc00 fff000 ffff0f

#C9A659 Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #C9A659?

#C9A659 is a mid-tone yellow — rgb(201, 166, 89) in RGB and hsl(41, 51%, 57%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Aztec Gold (#C39953), which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side at a CIE76 distance of 5.79.

What is the RGB value of #C9A659?

#C9A659 is rgb(201, 166, 89) — red 201, green 166, and blue 89 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #C9A659?

#C9A659 converts to approximately cmyk(0%, 17%, 56%, 21%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #C9A659 be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #C9A659 scores 2.31:1 against white and 9.08:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #C9A659 as a CSS color keyword?

No. #C9A659 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 darkkhaki (#BDB76B) at a CIE76 distance of 13.78, which is visibly different.

Open #C9A659 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 yellow in the color library, the guide to shades of yellow, or the full color library.