Robin egg blue
A blue-green shade named for the eggs of the American robin
Robin egg blue is a blue-green colour that matches the eggs of the American robin. Its name first appeared in English in 1873, but similar shades were mentioned earlier. The colour is also linked to a Chinese ceramic glaze from the 1700s and is the base for the well-known Tiffany Blue.
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- Named for the eggs of the American robin
- First recorded as a colour name in 1873
- Used as a glaze in 18th-century Chinese ceramics
- Tiffany Blue is a trademarked variation
What colour is Robin egg blue?
Robin egg blue is a shade of cyan, sitting between blue and green. It is named for its resemblance to the colour of American robin eggs. The shade stands out for its soft, clear blue-green tone, which is neither too dark nor too pale. It is sometimes called eggshell blue or robin's-egg blue. Its distinctiveness comes from its natural origin and its gentle but noticeable hue.
Where does Robin egg blue come from?
The name 'robin egg blue' comes from the colour of eggs laid by the American robin, a common North American songbird. The pigment in the eggs is biliverdin, which forms as heme breaks down in the bird's body. The term first appeared in English in 1873, but similar descriptions go back to 1844. In China, a glaze called 'robin's egg' was used on ceramics during the Yongzheng Emperor’s reign in the early 1700s, especially by the Yixing potter Hua Fengxiang.
Where Robin egg blue is used
Robin egg blue has been used in ceramics, most notably in Chinese glazes from the 18th century. The colour is also associated with Tiffany Blue, a trademarked shade used by the jewellery company Tiffany & Co. in New York City. Its soft blue-green tone has made it popular for decorative purposes.
Turquoise around the world
What the turquoise and cyan family means from country to country.
The old colour word qing covers green, blue and the shades between. In the five-element system it belongs to wood, the east and spring.
Nature and renewalCalmSource: Blue–green distinction in languageTurquoise, firuzeh in Persian, has been mined near Nishapur for thousands of years. It is worn against the evil eye, and its colour covers the domes of mosques in Isfahan.
Protection and healingSacred and holyAweSource: TurquoiseIn the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mary wears a blue-green cloak covered in stars. Turquoise was precious to the Aztecs, who used it in mosaic masks.
Sacred and holyAweSource: Our Lady of GuadalupeThe English word turquoise comes from the French for Turkish, because the stone reached Europe through Ottoman lands. Tiles from Iznik made the colour a mark of Ottoman mosques.
Royalty and powerSource: TurquoiseThe mosques and tombs of Samarkand are faced with turquoise and deep blue tiles. The three great madrasas of the Registan square and their ribbed turquoise domes are the best known.
Sacred and holyAweSource: RegistanShades and relatives of Robin egg blue
Tiffany Blue is a well-known variation of robin egg blue, trademarked by Tiffany & Co. This version is a light-medium tone of the original shade. Robin egg blue is sometimes confused with eggshell, which is a different colour. The term 'eggshell blue' is also used as an alternative name.
Colours that go with Robin egg blue
Harmonies are worked out from the value #00CCCC. Contrast ratios follow the WCAG 2 formula.
Questions people ask about Robin egg blue
What colour is robin egg blue?
Robin egg blue is a blue-green, or cyan, shade that matches the colour of American robin eggs.
Where does the name robin egg blue come from?
The name comes from the eggs of the American robin, a songbird found in North America.
Is robin egg blue used in art or craft?
Yes, it was used as a glaze on Chinese ceramics in the 18th century, especially in Yixing pottery.
What is Tiffany Blue?
Tiffany Blue is a trademarked version of robin egg blue, used by the jewellery company Tiffany & Co.
Good reading and sources
- Robin egg blue on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More pictures on Wikimedia CommonsPictures
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Robin egg blue", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). 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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