Sky blue
A light blue named for the colour of a clear daytime sky
Sky blue is a light blue shade that matches the colour of a clear daytime sky. The name has been used in English since at least 1681, and similar words exist in Italian, Spanish and French. It is a web colour and a common choice for sports teams, national flags and heraldry in several countries.
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- Sky blue matches the colour of a clear daytime sky.
- The name 'sky blue' has been used in English since 1681.
- Celeste is the Spanish and Italian word for this colour.
- It is a national sports colour in Argentina and Uruguay.
- Sky blue is a standard web colour with hex code #87CEEB.
What colour is Sky blue?
Sky blue is a pale blue shade, similar to the colour seen in a clear sky during the day. It sits between cyan and light azure, and can also resemble light teal. This colour is lighter and less saturated than standard blue, and is often described as soft or airy. Sky blue is distinct from deeper blues like azure, and is sometimes called celeste in Italian and Spanish.
Where does Sky blue come from?
The term 'sky blue' has been in English since at least 1681, with earlier mentions such as 'skie coloured' in a 1585 translation of a French travel book. The name comes directly from the colour of the sky on a clear day. In Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, 'celeste' means 'of the sky' and refers to the same colour. The word traces back to the Latin 'caelestis'.
How Sky blue is defined
Sky blue as a colour is defined by its appearance rather than by a specific pigment or dye. In digital media, it is set by the hex code #87CEEB. Variations exist in different standards, such as Crayola crayons and Pantone for textiles. In heraldry, a similar shade is called bleu celeste.
Where Sky blue is used
Sky blue is widely used in sports uniforms, especially in Argentina, Uruguay, Italy, Australia, India, Sweden and the UK. National football teams and clubs often wear sky blue shirts, and the colour appears in flags and livery. It is also a standard web colour and is used in digital design.
What Sky blue means
In English-speaking cultures, sky blue is associated with hope, aspiration and creativity, as seen in phrases like 'sky-blue thinking'. In Argentina and Uruguay, it is a national colour, especially in sports. The colour does not have a universal symbolic meaning, but is often linked to openness and possibility.
How Sky blue feels
Our sources tie Sky blue to hope. Such links differ from one culture to the next.
Blue around the world
What the blue family means from country to country.
The flag is sky blue, white and sky blue, created by Manuel Belgrano in 1812. National teams are called the Albiceleste, the white and sky blue.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of ArgentinaBoca Juniors play in blue and gold. The club's story is that in 1907 it took the colours of the flag of the next ship into port, which was Swedish.
Festival and celebrationPrideSource: Boca JuniorsTo be true blue is to be honestly and loyally Australian. The phrase is older than the country, but Australians have made it their own.
Politics and protestTrustSource: True Blue (John Williamson song)The Torres Strait Islander flag has a blue band for the sea between green bands for the land. A white dhari, a dancer's headdress, sits at the centre.
Politics and protestNature and renewalSource: Torres Strait Islander flagKrishna, Rama and Vishnu are painted with blue skin, the colour of the sky and the deep sea. The wheel at the centre of the national flag, the Ashoka Chakra, is navy blue.
Sacred and holyAweSource: KrishnaBlue is the colour of Dalit politics. Followers of B. R. Ambedkar carry blue flags, and the Bahujan Samaj Party campaigns under a blue flag with an elephant.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Bahujan Samaj PartyShades and relatives of Sky blue
Related shades include celeste (a pale turquoise blue), light sky blue, medium sky blue, vivid sky blue, deep sky blue, French sky blue, Spanish sky blue and dark sky blue. In heraldry, bleu celeste is a lighter blue than the standard azure. These variations differ in brightness and the amount of green or cyan present.
Colours that go with Sky blue
Harmonies are worked out from the value #87CEEB. Contrast ratios follow the WCAG 2 formula.
Questions people ask about Sky blue
What colour is sky blue?
Sky blue is a light blue shade, similar to the colour of a clear sky during the day. It sits between cyan and light azure.
Where does the name 'sky blue' come from?
The name comes from the colour of a clear daytime sky. It has been used in English since at least 1681, and similar words exist in Italian and Spanish.
Is sky blue used in any national flags or sports teams?
Yes, sky blue is a national sports colour in Argentina and Uruguay, and is used by teams in Italy, Australia, India, Sweden and the UK.
Are there different shades of sky blue?
Yes, there are several related shades, including celeste, light sky blue, medium sky blue, deep sky blue and others, each with slight differences in tone.
What is the web colour code for sky blue?
The standard web colour code for sky blue is #87CEEB.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Sky 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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