Hunter green
A deep green once worn by hunters and used in uniforms and sports
Hunter green is a dark, rich green shade named for the clothing hunters wore in the 1800s. It has been used in sports teams’ colours, school uniforms, and even as a signal in subcultures, and remains a visible choice for uniforms and city structures.
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- Named for 19th-century hunters' clothing
- Official colour for the New York Jets (1998–2018)
- Used for New York State prison uniforms
- Part of the bandana code in the gay leather subculture
- Painted on New York City construction fences since 2013
What colour is Hunter green?
Hunter green is a strong, dark green that stands out for its depth and muted tone. It is darker than grass green and less yellow than olive drab. This colour is often linked with uniforms, sports teams, and certain city structures, giving it a practical and recognisable look.
Where does Hunter green come from?
The name comes from the green clothing hunters in the 19th century wore to blend in with forests. As hunting clothes changed, olive drab became more common, but the name 'hunter green' stuck for this particular shade. The term was first used in English in the late 1800s.
Where Hunter green is used
Hunter green has been chosen for many uniforms, including those for prisons in New York State. It has served as a main colour for sports teams like the New York Jets and for schools and fraternities. In New York City, construction fences and sidewalk sheds have been painted hunter green since 2013. The colour is also seen in restaurant exteriors and in coded signals within some subcultures.
What Hunter green means
While hunter green does not have a universal symbolic meaning, it has been used as a signal in the gay leather subculture, where the way a hunter green bandana is worn can indicate relationship preferences. Its use in uniforms and teams gives it a sense of tradition and identity in those settings.
Green around the world
What the green family means from country to country.
A green kerchief is the sign of the campaign for legal abortion. Huge crowds wore it in 2018, and the movement was called the green wave.
Politics and protestHopeSource: Green scarfGreen and gold have been the official national colours since 1984 and are worn by national sports teams. They echo the leaves and flowers of the golden wattle.
Festival and celebrationPrideSource: National colours of AustraliaA Test cricketer is given a dark green cap, the baggy green, on first playing for Australia. Many players wear the same faded cap for a whole career.
Festival and celebrationPrideSource: Baggy greenThe green field of the flag stands for the land and its rice fields. Many people also read it as the youth and vigour of the country.
Nature and renewalPolitics and protestHopeSource: Flag of BangladeshThe flag is white, green and red. The green band, which took the place of the blue in the Russian flag, is read as the country's forests and farmland.
Politics and protestNature and renewalSource: Flag of BulgariaThe green field of the flag is commonly said to stand for the forests. It was first the colour of the House of Braganza, the family of the first emperor.
Politics and protestNature and renewalPrideSource: Flag of BrazilShades and relatives of Hunter green
Hunter green is sometimes confused with olive drab, but olive drab is lighter and has more yellow. Hunter green is deeper and cooler in tone. Other dark greens may look similar but do not carry the same historical or cultural links.
Colours that go with Hunter green
Harmonies are worked out from the value #355E3B. Contrast ratios follow the WCAG 2 formula.
Questions people ask about Hunter green
What colour is hunter green?
Hunter green is a deep, dark green shade, darker than grass green and less yellow than olive drab.
Where does the name hunter green come from?
The name refers to the green worn by hunters in the 1800s as camouflage in forests.
How has hunter green been used?
It has appeared in sports team colours, school uniforms, New York State prison uniforms, and on city construction fences.
When did the term hunter green first appear?
The term was first used in English in 1892.
Does hunter green have any special meanings?
In the gay leather subculture, a hunter green bandana signals specific relationship interests depending on how it is worn.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Shades of green" (the section "Hunter green"), written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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