Crayola crayons are a staple of American childhood. Since 1903, Crayola has been producing these iconic colored wax sticks that allow children to express their creativity. But where do all those creative color names come from? It may surprise you to learn the interesting history behind how Crayola crayons got their colors.
The Origins of Crayola Crayons
Crayola began in 1885 as Binney & Smith, a company producing coloring pigments. They soon started experimenting with making dustless colored chalks for schools. By 1900, they had launched their first crayons, calling them Crayolas (a combination of “craie,” the French word for chalk, and “oleaginous,” or oily). The first Crayola crayons box had 8 colors: black, brown, blue, red, purple, orange, yellow, and green.
| Year | Number of Colors |
|---|---|
| 1903 | 8 |
| 1913 | 12 |
| 1924 | 18 |
Over the next decades, Crayola steadily expanded their color options. By 1913, there were 12 colors. In 1924, the number grew to 18. And in 1958, the classic box of 48 Crayola crayons that many grew up with was released.
Naming the Crayola Colors
Coming up with creative, evocative names for all those distinctive crayon shades was an important part of the Crayola brand. While generic color names like red, blue, green were fine at first, the increase in number of shades required more imaginative titles. Crayola wanted names that would appeal to children’s sensibilities and help them creatively express themselves.
Many of the distinctive Crayola crayon names were thought up by Alice Binney, wife of Crayola founder Edwin Binney. As a former schoolteacher, Alice had a good sense of what words would resonate with children. For example, she came up with poetic color names like gold, silver, carnation pink, tan, and lavender. Other early Crayola crayon names tapped into exotic locales and culture like Prussian blue, mexican red, chinese yellow, indian red, and raw umber. Childhood concepts and activities were represented through color names like cornflower, orchid, sky blue, cadet blue, burnt sienna, and lemon yellow.
The Growth of Crayola Crayon Colors
By 1958, the standard Crayola crayon box had expanded beyond the original 8 colors to 48 distinct crayon shades. New specialty boxes introduced even more creative color names into the Crayola pantheon. Here are some of the ways the Crayola crayon color lineup expanded over the decades:
Metallic Crayons
Crayola released their first 8-count box of Gold and Silver Metallic Crayons in 1948. These shimmery, foil-wrapped crayons brought luxurious new color names like gold, silver, bronze, aluminum, steel, copper, brass, and chromium.
Fluorescent Crayons
The bright, glow-in-the-dark shades of the original 8 Fluorescent Crayons in the 1970s were given fittingly radical names: sun glow, rocket red, hot magenta, nebula blue, horizon blue, lunar green, venus violet and star glow.
True Blues
1983 saw the debut of 8 True Blue Crayons, including pigment-based shades like navy blue, denim, blue bell, yankee blue, tufts blue, powder blue, robin’s egg blue, and blue green.
Magic Scent Crayons
Crayola’s first 16 Magic Scent crayons arrived in 1994 and featured food-inspired scents and names: rose petal, lemon peel, orange citrus, pine tree, banana split, hot cocoa, fresh air, watermelon, lilac, cotton candy, bubble gum, blueberry muffin, cherry, popcorn, pineapple, and root beer.
Colors of the World
In 2020, Crayola introduced the 24-count Colors of the World crayons representing different skin tones found worldwide. The crayon names reflect the diversity with shades like deep almond, medium deep rose, dark golden, deepest mahogany, medium raspberry, cinnamon, and honeybee.
Controversial Crayon Color Names
While Crayola aimed to give their crayons creative, imaginative names, they occasionally faced backlash over controversial crayon color titles and had to rename or retire certain shades:
- Prussian Blue – Originally named “Prussian blue” in 1958, this dark blue shade was changed to “midnight blue” in 1958 during the Cold War period because some associated it with the Prussian (German) enemy.
- Indian Red – Now known as “chestnut,” this reddish crayon color was renamed in 1999 due to complaints about the racially insensitive overtones of the original “Indian red” name.
- Black – One of the original 8 Crayola crayon colors, “black” was renamed “midnight black” in 1962 to avoid the racial connotations of the name “black.”
- Flesh – Originally named “flesh” to represent a peach skin tone, protests from the NAACP in 1962 led Crayola to switch this crayon to “peach.”
By being receptive to public concerns over insensitive color names, Crayola has been able to continue evolving their popular crayon color lineup over the decades.
The Crayola Color Naming Process Today
These days, Crayola has a structured, democratic process to name new crayon colors that accounts for public opinion and trends. When Crayola considers adding a new color, they start by surveying customers on potential color names. The public gets to vote on the possibilities, providing input on the most appealing, fun names. From there, Crayola narrows down the options, removing duplicates, offensive choices, and the least popular monikers. The final color names are then decided on by a mix of Crayola employees, partners, and even schoolchildren!
Recent examples of the crowdsourcing process in action include:
- In 2019, Crayola let fans propose and choose the name for a new blue crayon color. Out of 500,000 fan submissions, the winning name chosen was “Bluetiful.”
- For a new green color launched in 2017, Crayola picked the name “Bliss” after asking fans to vote online among 4 possible names.
- Crayola’s “Purple Mountains Majesty” crayon, added in 2017, was one of 4 names crowdsourced online from fan suggestions.
By incorporating consumer opinions, Crayola ensures its crayons continue reflecting the popular culture around colors and kids’ creativity. The memorable Crayola crayon color names have not only stood the test of time but also provide a looking glass into cultural history and values over the decades. Each unique color name from goldenrod to razzmatazz tells a story and represents Crayola’s commitment to inspiring unlimited creativity and self-expression.
Conclusion
Tracing the origins and evolution of Crayola’s iconic crayon color names provides a fascinating glimpse into the company’s history and brand development. From generic descriptors to fanciful titles, the Crayola palette has grown to represent all skin tones and cultural experiences. Although occasional controversies have led to name changes, Crayola’s continued commitment to inclusiveness and creative expression shines through in their one-of-a-kind crayon colors. The memorable, evocative names given to each distinct Crayola crayon shade help inspire creativity and childhood joy the world over.