Kelly Green color guide
HEX
#4CBB17
RGB
76, 187, 23
HSL
101°, 78%, 41%
HSV
101°, 88%, 73%
Kelly green is the parade-float green — clean, saturated, and instantly readable from a distance. #4CBB17 is what many people picture when they say "Irish green" in casual conversation, bright enough for scarves and jerseys, controlled enough for logos. It signals celebration more than camouflage.
Best for
SaaS dashboards, admin panels, and professional UI themes.
Compare with
Accessibility
Check contrast before using kelly green for text-heavy layouts, especially on low-contrast backgrounds.
How does kelly green compare to nearby colors?
What is the difference between kelly green and lime green?
Kelly Green (#4CBB17) bends more toward yellow-green, while Lime Green (#32CD32) carries more of a leafy green cast. Kelly Green brings more shadow to the system, so it handles contrast-heavy jobs more naturally than Lime Green. Begin with kelly green when the family needs its current undertone and surface character; keep lime green for the nearby alternative that shifts the mood without leaving the same hue neighborhood.
What color is kelly green?
"Kelly green" is widely used in U.S. sports, school colors, and St. Patrick's Day merchandise. The name is cultural shorthand rather than a single international standard, but it consistently denotes a vivid true green.
What is the hex code for kelly green?
| Format | Value |
|---|---|
| HEX | #4CBB17 |
| RGB | rgb(76, 187, 23) |
| HSL | hsl(101°, 78%, 41%) |
| HSV / HSB | hsv(101°, 88%, 73%) |
| CMYK (approx.) | cmyk(59%, 0%, 88%, 27%) |
Convert Kelly Green to other color formats
Open the color converter with Kelly Green (#4CBB17) prefilled to copy RGB, HSL, HSV, CMYK, or OKLCH values.
Convert Kelly Green in the color converter →What does kelly green mean in design?
Kelly green is often associated with festivity, team pride, and assertive cheer. Next to lime green it tends to read as truer and less yellow; compared with spring green it usually feels warmer and less electric.
How do I use kelly green in code?
| CSS (hex) | color: #4CBB17; |
| CSS (rgb) | color: rgb(76, 187, 23); |
| CSS (hsl) | color: hsl(101, 78%, 41%); |
| RGB % | rgb(30%, 73%, 9%) |
| Tailwind | text-[#4CBB17] |
| SwiftUI | Color(red: 0.298, green: 0.733, blue: 0.090) |
| UIKit | UIColor(red: 0.298, green: 0.733, blue: 0.090, alpha: 1.0) |
| Android | Color.rgb(76, 187, 23) |
| Compose | Color(0xFF4CBB17) |
| Web Safe | #33CC00 |
Is kelly green accessible?
| Combination | Ratio | AA | AA lg | AAA | AAA lg | UI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AaWhite text on this color | 2.49:1 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| AaBlack text on this color | 8.43:1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AaThis color as text on white | 2.49:1 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| AaThis color as text on black | 8.43:1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
WCAG 2.1: AA normal ≥ 4.5:1, AA large text ≥ 3:1, AAA normal ≥ 7:1, AAA large ≥ 4.5:1, UI components ≥ 3:1.
How does kelly green look with color blindness?
Simulated appearance for common types of color vision deficiency. Actual perception varies by individual.
What colors go with kelly green
White helps kelly green stay legible in charts, labels, and UI states where a muddier light neutral would blur the edges.
With a cooler color like kelly green, gold adds richness and turns the system toward premium packaging, hospitality, or ceremonial branding.
Cream takes the hard digital edge off kelly green and makes the color feel more printed, paper-backed, and approachable.
What colors clash with kelly green
With kelly green, Neon Green pushes the work toward novelty or screen-effect territory faster than most brand or editorial systems can tolerate.
Magenta remaps kelly green too aggressively, dragging it away from sports, agritech, and momentum-led dashboards and into a brighter, more performative palette.
How should I use kelly green in design?
- •Use kelly green for headlines, sidebar accents, and key data points where you need strong presence without going full dark-mode.
- •Pair kelly green with warm accents (gold, rust, amber) when you need more energy, or stay in cool territory (navy, silver, sage) for a composed, professional look.
- •Kelly Green's high saturation makes it most effective in small doses — buttons, chart highlights, notification badges, and social media accents.
What are good kelly green palettes?
Design with kelly green in Moda
Create a presentation or document using kelly green as your accent color. Moda's AI applies your color palette automatically.
Create a design with kelly green →What are the shades and tints of kelly green?
Shades (darker)
Tints (lighter)
Tones (desaturated)
Hue variations
What are the color harmonies for kelly green?
Harmonies are calculated from the base swatch. When a harmony matches a named color page, it links there; otherwise it appears here as a computed reference swatch.
Similar colors
Lime Green
Lime Green keeps roughly the same visual weight as kelly green but changes the undertone story, which is often enough to move a palette from warmer and tactile to cooler and more technical, or the reverse.
Fern
Fern sits close to kelly green on the wheel, but it carries less chroma, which makes it better for steadier surfaces and calmer long-form use than for sharper emphasis and quicker visual pickup.
Neon Green
Neon Green stays in the same color family as kelly green, but the change in value moves it into different layout jobs, especially once backgrounds, charts, or section dividers enter the system.
Forest Green
Forest Green keeps roughly the same visual weight as kelly green but changes the undertone story, which is often enough to move a palette from warmer and tactile to cooler and more technical, or the reverse.
Avocado
Avocado is close enough to kelly green to keep the palette cohesive, yet the lighter-darker shift still decides whether the family behaves more like atmosphere or more like structure.
Frequently asked questions
What is the hex code for kelly green?
The hex code for kelly green is #4CBB17. In RGB, that's 76 red, 187 green, and 23 blue. The approximate CMYK equivalent is 59% cyan, 0% magenta, 88% yellow, and 27% key (black).
Is kelly green a warm or cool color?
Kelly Green falls on the cool side of the palette, so warm companions create the clearest contrast while other cool tones keep the system more restrained.
Should kelly green lead the palette or stay in supporting roles?
Kelly Green has enough chroma to take the lead, but it usually performs best when the surrounding system stays quieter. Treat it as the voice of emphasis, not the answer to every layout need.
Where does kelly green work best in a layout?
Kelly Green sits in the middle of the spectrum in a useful way: strong enough for emphasis, but controlled enough to support a broader brand or presentation system when the contrast is handled well.
Is kelly green accessible?
Kelly Green works better with dark text than white text. Black text reaches 8.43:1 contrast on the swatch, which makes the color more usable as a background or highlight surface than as a dark panel.
More green colors
Keep exploring color resources
All color pages
Browse the full library of color references, pairings, and palettes.
Green colors
Compare kelly green with other green tones.
Blue colors
Explore nearby color families to build stronger palettes and contrasts.
Brown colors
Explore nearby color families to build stronger palettes and contrasts.
Neutral colors
Explore nearby color families to build stronger palettes and contrasts.
Last updated April 6, 2026
Color values are computed from the listed hex code using standard conversion formulas. RGB, HSL, and HSV are exact screen-ready conversions. CMYK is an approximate on-screen reference, not a press-ready print specification. Pairings, palettes, and use-case guidance are heuristic recommendations derived from color relationships, contrast behavior, and common presentation, document, and UI patterns.