Colorful Crayon Names

Most of us, as kids, lived in a world colored by crayons, and for those of us fascinated by words and names, those assigned to the different hues in the big 64-crayon Crayola box were particularly evocative.  I can still remember, as a little girl,  being intrigued by such mysterious names as Burnt Sienna and Raw Umber.

These memories were reawakened by a communique from our inspired creative contributor Nephele, when she wrote:

“Perhaps one of the fondest childhood memories shared by many of us is that of opening up a fresh box of crayons.  What a joy to the senses it was to experience that clean scent of wax and the beautiful sight of those colorful rows of pointed tips awaiting one’s creative process.  Adding to the delight was the fact that one’s crayons bore wonderful individual names on their wrappers, such as “Periwinkle” and “Cadet Blue.”  With such names, how could a child not help but personify her crayon friends?

‘Crayola’ was synonymous with ‘crayon’  in my childhood days, as it pretty much is today.  The bonus for today’s children is that the Crayola company now includes, along with English, both French and Spanish language versions of their crayon names on the wrappers of each crayon–providing even more name choices for one’s crayon companions!”

Here is Nephele’s list of crayon names which might also make pleasing names, with a few additions by Nameberry:

ALMENDRA (Spanish, “Almond“)

CERISE

CERULEAN

FERN

FUCHSIA

GLYCINE (French, “Wisteria“)

GRAY

INDIGO

JACINTHE (from “Jacinthe des Bois,” French for “Bluebell“)

LAVANDA (Spanish, “Lavender“)

LILAC

MAGENTA

MAIZE

MALVA (Spanish, “Mauve“)

MAUVE

OLIVE

ORCHID

PERVENCHE (French, “Periwinkle”)

PINE

PLUM

ROSA (Spanish, “Pink“)

ROSE CHATOUILLE (French name for the Crayola “Tickle Me Pink“)

ROSE OEILLET  (French, “Pink Carnation”)

SCARLET

SHADOW

SIENNA

SILVER

SOLEIL (from “Rayon de Soleil,” French name for the Crayola “Sunglow”)

SOMBRA (Spanish, “Shadow“)

TANGERINE

TEAL

TULIP

UMBER

VIOLET

WISTERIA

In addition, in 1994, Crayola introduced a range of 16 “Gem Tones,” including:

AMETHYST

CITRINE

EMERALD

JADE

JASPER

ONYX

PERIDOT

RUBY

SAPPHIRE

TOPAZ

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AND NOW, FOR MORE CRAYON FUN FROM NEPHELE:

There’s a specific crayon color that represents you, and it’s hiding within your name.  To find out your own unique crayon name through Nephele’s art of anagramming, just click on this link to the Nameberry discussion board: crayon anagram

PLUS:

If you’re interested in a little Crayola trivia, here’s a link to a newspaper column written by LR a couple of years ago: Crayola–just disregard the outdated stuff at the bottom