Purple Plum

#9C51B6

What color is Purple Plum?

Purple plum is a deep, rich violet with a noticeable red undertone, hex #9C51B6, similar in tone to the skin of a ripe plum. It is darker than lavender but brighter than eggplant, with enough warmth to keep it from reading as a cool blue-purple.

What is the meaning of the color Purple Plum?

The name links directly to the plum fruit, whose dark violet-red skin has been a color reference in English since at least the late 17th century. Purple dyes of this range were historically expensive to produce, associated with royalty and clergy across Europe due to the scarcity of natural violet pigments before synthetic dyes became available in 1856. William Perkin’s accidental synthesis of mauveine that year opened the door to affordable purple tones for the first time, shifting the color from exclusive to broadly commercial. Cadbury adopted a similar deep purple for its chocolate packaging in 1914, and the shade has been linked to premium consumer goods ever since.

RGB
156, 81, 182
HSL
285°, 41%, 52%
CMYK
14, 55, 0, 29
HSV
285°, 55%, 71%
Purple plum color

What colors go with Purple Plum?

Colors that pair well with Purple plum include:
Gold: warm, rich contrast
Dusty rose: soft, close harmony
Charcoal gray: grounded, dark balance
Cream: light, gentle relief
Forest green: cool, earthy contrast

Similar Colors

Conversions & Codes

Format Value CSS
HEX #9C51B6 color: #9C51B6;
RGB 156, 81, 182 color: rgb(156, 81, 182);
RGB Percentage 61%, 32%, 71% color: rgb(61%, 32%, 71%);
CMYK 14%, 55%, 0%, 29% Not supported in CSS
HSL 285°, 41%, 52% color: hsl(285, 41%, 52%);
HSV 285°, 55%, 71% Not supported in CSS
CIE-LAB 42, 15, -34 color: lab(42% 15 -34);
Decimal 10244534 Not supported in CSS

Color Variations

Shades

#9E52B7
#9046A8
#803F96
#703783
#602F70
#50275D
#401F4B
#301738

Tints

#E2CBE9
#D8BAE2
#CEA9DB
#C597D4
#BB86CC
#B175C5
#A764BE
#9E52B7

Tones

#9E52B7
#9B57B2
#995CAD
#9661A8
#9466A3
#916C9E
#8F7199
#8C7694

Hues

#9E52B7
#B75285
#B76C52
#B7B752
#6CB752
#52B785
#529EB7
#5252B7

Color Harmonies

Analogous

#6C52B7
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#9C51B6
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#B7529E
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Complementary

#9C51B6
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#6CB752
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Split Complementary

#9C51B6
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#9EB752
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#52B76C
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Triadic

#9C51B6
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#B79E52
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#52B79E
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Tetradic

#9C51B6
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#B76C52
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#6CB752
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#529EB7
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Square

#9C51B6
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#B76C52
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#6CB752
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#529EB7
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CSS & Dev Snippets

CSS
.purple-plum {
  color: #9C51B6;
}
SCSS
$purple-plum: #9C51B6;
RGB
rgb(156, 81, 182)

Accessibility & Contrast

White background

4.92:1
4.92
contrast ratio on a white background
Element
AA
AAA
Small text
Large text
UI element

Black background

4.27:1
4.27
contrast ratio on a black background
Element
AA
AAA
Small text
Large text
UI element

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