# What's the name of a woman who has black hair? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 3, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974 "2010-08-03T04:16:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kim\_jung\_il](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@kim\_jung\_il](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kim_jung_il)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/1 "2010-08-03T04:16:52Z")
We have blondes, brunettes and redheads. But what is a black-haired lady referred to as? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/2 "2010-08-03T04:25:56Z")
Raven-haired, as in a raven-haired beauty. ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/3 "2010-08-03T04:36:16Z")
And the ones who aren’t beautiful are simply black-haired? ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/4 "2010-08-03T04:42:21Z")
They’re brunettes. Just a darker shade. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/5 "2010-08-03T04:45:00Z")
I always said brunette. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/6 "2010-08-03T04:48:35Z")
> [@heathen\_earthling](#): > > And the ones who aren’t beautiful are simply black-haired? They’re all beautiful, in their own way. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/7 "2010-08-03T04:53:48Z")
This source [Brunette](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=brunette&searchmode=none) says that the word is [from [O.Fr](http://O.Fr). brunet “brownish, brown-haired, dark-complexioned,” fem. dim. of brun “brown” (12c.), of W.Gmc. origin]. So the word seems solidly rooted in brown rather than black. And, according to this site (somewhat less scholarly than the earlier ref) the term should be [Noirette](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Noirette). That is not a bad suggestion, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/8 "2010-08-03T05:21:03Z")
The name of a woman who has black hair? I know several. Guadalupe, Maria Estrella, Remy, Helen… ---
**Author:** ![lshaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e36b37/32.png) [@lshaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lshaw)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/9 "2010-08-03T05:29:08Z")
> [@GHO57](#): > > They’re brunettes. Just a darker shade. Why aren’t brunettes referred to as darker blondes, then? Quite a few brunettes are born with blond hair that darken over the years. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/10 "2010-08-03T07:03:15Z")
I’ve also heard raven-haired, which originates, I think, from the British Isles. ---
**Author:** ![kim\_jung\_il](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@kim\_jung\_il](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kim_jung_il)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/11 "2010-08-03T07:06:49Z")
> [@In\_Winnipeg](#): > > I’ve also heard raven-haired, which originates, I think, from the British Isles. I’ve heard the term raven-haired, but I was unsure if this was a label used by other countries. I’ve only heard the term in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/12 "2010-08-03T07:54:03Z")
I’ve only heard raven-haired in particularly poetic descriptions. Normally it’s just “She has black hair.” ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/13 "2010-08-03T08:25:31Z")
Cerie ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/14 "2010-08-03T08:26:21Z")
I thought brunette included both brown and black hair, based both on what we were taught and on the usage I’ve seen. I’ve even occasionally met someone (always monolingual) who claimed it was to be used exclusively for black hair; these people were inevitably unable to tell me what to call those of us with dark-brown hair, some even told me I did have black hair (no I don’t, just look at me beside someone who actually does). ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/15 "2010-08-03T15:55:59Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Raven-haired, as in a raven-haired beauty. > [@heathen\_earthling](#): > > And the ones who aren’t beautiful are simply black-haired? I never implied that the adjective “raven-haired” necessarily had anything to do with beauty, only that “raven-haired beauty” is a common (albeit somewhat old-fashioned) phrase. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/16 "2010-08-03T16:02:48Z")
Ooh, I like noirette! How do I go about having this term popularized? ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/17 "2010-08-03T16:07:58Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Ooh, I like noirette! How do I go about having this term popularized? For starters, you could slip a little sneak-bragging into every few posts about what a curse it is to be a striking noirette such as yourself… ---
**Author:** ![Ruby\_Slippers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/94ad74/32.png) [@Ruby\_Slippers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby_Slippers)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/18 "2010-08-03T16:09:20Z")
It doesn’t appear that there is a noun form for every shade of hair. For instance, my own hair is now starting to show a preponderance of gray. My mother has completed the transition to snow white. Is she now a blanchette? Is there any noun for people with gray hair? (Other than old farts, of course.) ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/19 "2010-08-03T16:24:43Z")
Surprisingly, “blackhead” never took off… ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974/20 "2010-08-03T16:25:58Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > This source [Brunette](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=brunette&searchmode=none) says that the word is [from [O.Fr](http://O.Fr). brunet “brownish, brown-haired, dark-complexioned,” fem. dim. of brun “brown” (12c.), of W.Gmc. origin]. > > So the word seems solidly rooted in brown rather than black. > > And, according to this site (somewhat less scholarly than the earlier ref) the term should be [Noirette](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Noirette). > > That is not a bad suggestion, in my opinion. > [@lshaw](#): > > > [@GHO57](#): > > > > They’re brunettes. Just a darker shade. > > Why aren’t brunettes referred to as darker blondes, then? Quite a few brunettes are born with blond hair that darken over the years. Because black hair isn’t actually, truly black- it’s just dark brown. I say this as someone with black hair, btw. Trust me, you stick this shit under the sun or a bright camera flash and it isn’t truly black. And yes, I dye my hair the darkest black dye in the salon. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-a-woman-who-has-black-hair/548974.md?page=2)