Tan (color)

Tan is a pale tone of brown. The name is derived from tannum (oak bark) used in the tanning of leather.^[1]

Tan
Common connotations
skin color, sunbathing
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#D2B48C
sRGBB (r, g, b)	(210, 180, 140)
HSV (h, s, v)	(34°, 33%, 82%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(75, 39, 56°)
Source	X11
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Grayish yellow
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)
Some shades of Tan
Dark Tan

The first recorded use of tan as a color name in English was in the year 1590.^[2]

Chestnut oak bark, formerly used in tanning

Colors which are similar or may be considered synonymous to tan include: tawny, tenné, and fulvous.

Variations of tan

Sandy tan

Sandy Tan
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#FDD9B5
sRGBB (r, g, b)	(253, 217, 181)
HSV (h, s, v)	(30°, 28%, 99%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(89, 39, 51°)
Source	Crayola[3]
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Pale orange yellow
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at right is the color Sandy tan.

This color was formulated by Crayola in 2000 as a Crayola marker color.

Tan (Crayola)

Tan
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#FAA76C
sRGBB (r, g, b)	(250, 167, 108)
HSV (h, s, v)	(25°, 57%, 98%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(75, 79, 37°)
Source	Crayola
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Moderate orange
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at right is the orangish tone of tan called tan since 1958 in Crayola crayons and 1990 in Crayola markers.

Windsor tan

Windsor Tan
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#AE6838
sRGBB (r, g, b)	(174, 104, 56)
HSV (h, s, v)	(24°, 68%, 68%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(51, 66, 34°)
Source	ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Strong brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at right is the color Windsor tan.

The first recorded use of Windsor tan as a color name in English was in 1925.^[4]

Tuscan tan

Main article: Tuscan red

Tuscan Tan
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#A67B5B
sRGBB (r, g, b)	(166, 123, 91)
HSV (h, s, v)	(26°, 45%, 65%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(55, 41, 41°)
Source	ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Light brown
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at right is the color Tuscan tan.

The first recorded use of Tuscan tan as a color name in English was in 1926.^[5]

The normalized color coordinates for Tuscan tan are identical to café au lait and French beige, which were first recorded as color names in English in 1839^[6] and 1927,^[7] respectively.

In human culture

Military

• Tan is the color of the United States Army Rangers beret as well as Canada's Canadian Special Operations Regiment and Joint Task Force 2.^[8]

Sunbathing

• When a person sunbathes to make their skin darker, they are said to be getting a tan.

United States politics

• The Barack Obama tan suit controversy was an incident when US President Barack Obama wore a tan colored suit during a press conference.

See also

• Lists of colors
• Buff, a similar color
• Khaki, another similar color
• Tawny (color)

References

1. "tan". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
2. Aloys John Maerz; Morris Rea Paul (1930). A Dictionary of Color (1st ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 205.
3. Crayola Sandy Tan marker
4. Aloys John Maerz; Morris Rea Paul (1930). A Dictionary of Color (1st ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 49, 207. Plate 13 Color Sample G12; Color Sample of Windsor Tan
5. Aloys John Maerz; Morris Rea Paul (1930). A Dictionary of Color (1st ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 49, 206. Plate 13 Color Sample C8; Color Sample of Tuscan tan
6. Aloys John Maerz; Morris Rea Paul (1930). A Dictionary of Color (1st ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 47, 191. Plate 12 Color Sample A6; Color Sample of Cafe au Lait
7. Aloys John Maerz; Morris Rea Paul (1930). A Dictionary of Color (1st ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 49, 195. Plate 13 Color Sample A7; Color Sample of French beige
8. http://www.csor-rosc.forces.gc.ca/index-eng.asp. Archived 2013-07-02 at the Wayback Machine