Midnight blue

Midnight blue is a dark shade of blue named for its resemblance to the apparently blue color of a moonlit night sky around a full moon. Midnight blue is identifiably blue to the eye in sunlight or full-spectrum light, but can appear black under certain more limited spectra sometimes found in artificial lighting (especially early 20th-century incandescent). It is similar to navy, which is also a dark blue.

Variations

X11

Midnight Blue

Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#191970
sRGB^B (r, g, b)	(25, 25, 112)
HSV (h, s, v)	(240°, 78%, 44%)
CIELCh_uv (L, C, h)	(16, 49, 266°)
Source	X11
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Vivid blue
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

There are two major shades of midnight blue—the X11 color and the Crayola color. This color was originally called midnight. The first recorded use of midnight as a color name in English was in 1915.^[1]

At right is displayed the color midnight blue. This is the X11 web color midnight blue.

Dark midnight blue (Crayola)

Midnight Blue (Crayola)

Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#003366
sRGB^B (r, g, b)	(0, 51, 102)
HSV (h, s, v)	(210°, 100%, 40%)
CIELCh_uv (L, C, h)	(21, 42, 253°)
Source	Crayola
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Deep blue
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

At right is displayed the dark shade of midnight blue that is called midnight blue in Crayola crayons. Midnight blue became an official crayola color in 1958; before that, since having been formulated by Crayola in 1903, it was called Prussian blue.

In culture

Higher education

Hatfield College, part of Durham University, uses midnight blue as its associated color^[2]

Fashion

Midnight blue is an alternative to black as a color for dinner jackets. Due to the deepness of the color, midnight blue formal clothes are often almost indistinguishable from black. The Duke of Windsor popularized the color in suits and tuxedos.

Military

The dark blue of US Army and US Marine Corps dress blue uniform coats is called midnight blue.
The British Army Special Reconnaissance Regiment uses midnight blue on its stable belts, as a flat color all round.

Sports

The Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association use midnight blue and sunshine yellow as their official team colors.
The University of Toledo Rockets use midnight blue and gold as their official team colors.^[3]
The Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League used midnight blue as an official team color from 1996 to 2012.^[4]
The New York Yankees use midnight blue and white as their official team colors.

Music

In 1963, American jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell released the album Midnight Blue.
In 1975, Melissa Manchester released "Midnight Blue".
In 1979, the album, Discovery, released by British symphonic rock turned disco band Electric Light Orchestra, contained a song named "Midnight Blue."
In 1987, rock vocalist Lou Gramm released a single entitled "Midnight Blue".
In 2022, Taylor Swift began wearing midnight blue outfits as part of the promotion for her Midnights album. A year later, she sported wearing similarly colored costumes the last act of her Eras Tour.

References

^ Maerz and Paul (1930). A Dictionary of Color. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 199; color sample of midnight: page 103, plate 40, color sample A8.
^ Evans, Martyn; Burt, Tim (2016). The Collegiate Way: University Education in a Collegiate Context. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. p. 87.
^ "School Colors". University of Toledo. Retrieved 2017-10-27.
^ "Edmonton Oilers". NHL Uniform Database. Retrieved 2020-11-08.

Shades of blue

Aero	Air Force blue	Air superiority blue	Alice Blue	Argentinian Blue	Azure	Azul	Baby blue	Berkeley Blue	Bice blue

Bleu de France	Blue	Blue-gray	Bondi blue	Brandeis blue	Byzantine blue	Cambridge blue	Carolina blue	Celestial Blue	Celtic Blue

Cerulean	Chefchaouen Blue	Chrysler blue	Cobalt blue	Columbia blue	Cornflower	Blue (Crayola)	Dark blue	Deep Sky Blue	Delft Blue

Denim	Dodger blue	Duke blue	Egyptian blue	Federal blue	Glaucous	Green-blue	Electric indigo	Eclipse	French blue

Honolulu blue	Ice blue	Illini blue	Indigo	Indigo dye	International Klein Blue	Jordy Blue	Lapis Lazuli	Light blue	Light Sky Blue

Majorelle Blue	Marian blue	Maya blue	Medium blue	Medium slate blue	Midnight blue	Blue (Munsell)	Navy blue	Blue (NCS)	Neon blue

Non-photo blue	Oxford Blue	Palatinate blue	Pale azure	Penn Blue	Periwinkle	Persian blue	Phthalo blue	Picton Blue	Polynesian blue

Powder blue	Prussian blue	Resolution Blue	RISD Blue	Royal Blue (web color)	Royal blue (traditional)	Ruddy Blue	Sapphire	Savoy blue	Silver Lake Blue

Sky blue	Space cadet	Steel blue	Tang Blue	True Blue	Tufts Blue	UCLA Blue	Ultramarine	United Nations Blue	Uranian Blue

Violet-blue	Vista Blue	Yale Blue	YInMn Blue	Zaffre

Related topics:

Shades of black

Bistre	Black	Black bean	Black olive	Café noir	Charcoal	Dark purple	Ebony	Eerie black	Jet

Licorice	Midnight	Night	Onyx	Outer space	Raisin black	Rich black	Russian violet	Smoky black	Super black

Taupe	Vanta Black

A typical sample is shown for each name; a range of color-variations is commonly associated with each color-name.

Color topics

Color science

Color physics	Electromagnetic spectrum Light Rainbow Visible Spectral colors Chromophore Structural coloration Animal coloration Color of chemicals Water Spectral power distribution Colorimetry
Color perception	Chromesthesia Sonochromatism Color blindness Achromatopsia Dichromacy Color calibration Color constancy Color task Color code Color temperature Color vision test Evolution of color vision Impossible colors Metamerism Opponent process Afterimage Unique hues Tetrachromacy The dress
Color psychology	Color symbolism Color preferences Lüscher color test Kruithof curve Political color National colors Chromophobia Chromotherapy
Color reproduction	Color photography Color balance Color cast Digital image processing Color management Color printing Multi-primary color display Quattron Color model additive RGB subtractive CMYK Color space Color mapping

Color
philosophy

Color scheme	Color tool Monochromatic colors black-and-white Complementary colors Analogous colors Achromatic colors (Neutral) Polychromatic colors Light-on-dark Web colors Tinctures in heraldry
Color theory	Color mixing Primary color Secondary color Tertiary color Chromaticity Color solid Color wheel Color triangle Color analysis (fashion) Color realism (art style) On Vision and Colours (Schopenhauer) Theory of Colours (Goethe)

Color terms

Basic terms	Blue Green Red Yellow Pink Purple Orange Black Gray White Brown
Cultural differences	Linguistic relativity and the color naming debate Blue–green distinction in language Color history Blue in culture Color in Chinese culture Traditional colors of Japan Human skin color
Color dimensions	Hue Dichromatism Colorfulness Pastel colors Luminance Lightness Darkness Brightness Iridescence Fluorescence Grayscale Tint, shade and tone