12 Most Popular Brown Rabbit Breeds (with Videos)

Last Updated on June 12, 2023 by Leonard Harper

There are so many breeds of rabbits to choose from, and some of the most popular ones are brown rabbit breeds. Currently, ARBA has 50 recognized breeds but their list doesn’t include all the domestic rabbits that currently exist in the world.

Brown is a common rabbit coat and is almost a standard coat color for most breeds of rabbits. Some people might think that brown coats in rabbits are boring but I beg to disagree.

There are many brown shades for different rabbit coats and this article has listed some of the most famous breeds of rabbits that come with coats of brown shades. I even picked out some videos from the internet for you to see just how adorable they are. 

Rabbits, regardless of their coat colors, tend to be highly intelligent animals that will bond strongly to their human family if given the proper care. Then, if you are interested in getting brown rabbits or maybe just curious about rabbit breed in general read on further. 

What are the different shades of brown in rabbit coats? 

If you are looking to buy a rabbit and you ask your chosen breeder of the coats, you might get varied and different colors. It can be confusing as most of them love to use special names instead of just stating “a lighter shade of brown” or maybe just saying “chocolate brown”. If you feel embarrassed about asking what they’re talking about then it is good for you to note that the different names for shades of brown coats in rabbits. 

Some of them include but are not limited to the following: 

• Sable 
• Cinnamon 
• Tan 
• Chocolate 
• Rust 
• Agouti 
• Russet 
• Chestnut 

What are the top 12 most popular rabbit breeds? 

1. Cinnamon Rabbit

You guessed it, the Cinnamon rabbit got its name from its coat color. The Cinnamon Rabbit has soft, fur the color of ground cinnamon. The breed has its origins in the United States and is born because of two siblings Belle Houseman, and her older brother. 

The Chinchilla doe of Belle bred with her brother’s New Zealand buck and this offspring subsequently bred with a Checkered Giant and voila! The first-ever Cinnamon rabbit was born. 

The Cinnamon rabbit is a medium-sized rabbit that can weigh up to 9 lbs. They have a cinnamon-colored coat but their ears, nose, and feet are a smokey black color. This is the only coat color that the breed has but their face colorings can be smokey gray as well. 

2. Belgian Hare Rabbit

Belgian Hare rabbits are called “fancy” breeds. This means that they were bred for their non-utilitarian use. They were also specifically bred to resemble wild hares.

This breed has a distinctive look. Because of the selective breed, the Belgian Hare is known for its long legs and arched body. They enjoyed immense popularity back when they were first introduced in the 19th century and the 20th century.

However, purebred Belgian Hares are rare today and are considered endangered. This breed can grow up to 8 lbs and its coat is also very similar to its wild cousins. They are also considered the racehorse of all other rabbit breeds because of their long and limber legs. 

Most Belgian hares come in Tan but they can also have other coat colors such as black, red, and Chestnut. This breed makes for an excellent pet because of its intelligent and active nature. However, this breed is also known for being a bit skittish and nervous.

3. Argente Brun Rabbit

The Argente Brun is one of the Argente Breeds that are recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA). As you can infer by its name, this breed is different from other Argent Breed because of its brown fur. 

This breed is also one of the oldest rabbit breeds and has its origin in France during the mid to late 19th century. It was then exported to the United States during the 1920s and 1930s and was recognized as an official breed by ARBA in February 2016.

The Argent Brun is a large rabbit that can weigh anywhere from 8 to 10.5 lbs. They are a mandolin or a semi-arched body and strong feet. They also have their ears standing upright on their heads. 

The coat of the Argente Brun has a deep brown undercoat with a brownish white top fur. They also have colored toenails. This kind of breed is perfect for families because they are used to being handled by humans and are extremely docile. 

4. American Sable Rabbit

The American Sable rabbit hails from California and is aptly named because of its fluffy and silky sable colored coat. It was bred by Otto Brock in the early 1920s when he was trying to breed different chinchilla rabbits with other rabbit breeds until he was able to achieve the perfect coat color he was aiming for.

The American Sable has a commercial type of body and can weigh up to 10 lbs. They have round heads with upright ears. The coat of the American Sable is short but is very dense compared to other rabbits. Therefore, grooming needs to be done regularly as their dense coats make them shed more as well. 

There is only one coat color accepted by ARBA for this breed. Their heads, feet, tails, and ears are usually a dark sepia color that fades to a beautiful tan to their bodies. Their coat looks really ombre if you ask me. 

5. Havana Rabbit

The Havanas, contrary to its name, did not originate from Cuba. They were named so because the first litter of rabbits had coats of a deep chocolate brown that were so reminiscent of Cuban Cigars. 

The Havanas can trace back its origins in Holland when a lone brown rabbit was born in a litter of Dutch rabbits in the late 1800s. This breed of rabbit has a compact body type and can weigh up to 6.5 lbs. Their bodies are short and round and their ears stand upright on their heads.

The Havanas can also come in other coat colors such as chocolate, blue, black, and broken which is what you call rabbit coats that are mixed of different colors. 

Havanas are calm and gentle pets so they make perfect pets for first-time pet owners and families. They also live generally long lives lasting from 5 to 8 years. 

6. Rex Rabbit

Rex rabbits are called the “King of Rabbis”. They are an extremely popular breed of rabbit in the United States. The Rex rabbit traces its history back to the French village of Louche-Pringe. The breed was bred from a litter of wild gray rabbits. 

The breed was introduced to the United States by breeders John C. Fehr and Alfred Zimmerman and has been accepted by ARBA ever since.

This breed has a compact body type and can weigh from 7.5 to 10.5 lbs. The Rex rabbits are known for their elegant looks and well-proportioned body. They have round hips and strong muscles. 

The Rex rabbit also has distinct plush fur that points out instead of against their bodies. Their elegant looks and their super soft fur make them the rabbit of choice for many pet owners. 

Rex rabbits are also very intelligent and docile thus, they make perfect pets for anyone wanting to experience the joys of being a bunny owner. 

7. Palomino Rabbit

Palomino rabbits got their names from their beautiful Palomino-colored coats. The Palomino was raised by Mark Young of the Lone Pine Rabbitry. He was able to cross-breed some rabbits in the 1940s until he came up with cute light brown baby rabbits he first called “Tawnies” 

This first batch of rabbits was further developed and was presented to ARBA where they were again renamed to “Washintongnians”. It was then again presented to the ARBA convention of 1953 and was finally named “Palomino”.

The Palomino rabbit weighs from 8 to 10lbs and has a commercial body type. It has round well-rounded hindquarters and strong legs. The coat of the Palomino also comes in two colors: golden and lynx. 

The Golden coat Palomino has an orange/beige color with a white undercoat while the Lynx colored Palomino has silver/grey top fur with orange/beige or white undercoat.

8. Lionhead Rabbit

The Lionhead Rabbit is probably one the most unique and the cutest of all the rabbit breeds. Lionheads are well known for their unique tufts of fur that circle their heads. This tuft of fur looks like a lion’s mane thus giving it its name the “Lionhead” 

Lionheads can have a single mane or a double mane. Single mane rabbits only have hair around their heads and can be wispy while double mane Lionheads have tufts of fur that circles their head and their waist called “skirts”. Double mane Lionheads have fluffier fur and they retain their crowning glories for the rest of their lives.

Lionhead rabbits have compact bodies and short ears. They only weigh up to 3.5 lbs and are thus considered a small breed. Lionheads have larger heads than their bodies but this does not deter adoring fans from fawning over this breed. 

There are many coats of Lionheads these are black, chocolate, chestnut, blue, tortoise, agouti, silver, etc. 

Lionheads are extremely affectionate. They are intelligent breeds and make for the perfect pet. 

9. Mini Lop Rabbit

The Mini Lop is another popular rabbit breed in the United States. Contrary to popular belief, Mini lops are not dwarf breeds because they do not carry the dwarfism gene. The Mini lop has stocky and chubby bodies and droopy ears that hang past their jaws. 

Mini Lops were first bred in Germany in the 1950s. Different breeds were crossbred to come up with the Mini Lop some of these breeds are the Chinchilla, English Lop, French Lop, and Dwarf Lop. When the first Mini Lop came to be it was first called the “Klein Widder”.

The Mini Lop was recognized by ARBA in the 1980s and since then has become one of the most famous breeds in the United States. There are also several color coats available for Mini Lops such as 

• Agouti 
• Broken 
• White 
• Ticked 
• Wide Band 

10. Silver Rabbit

This might come as a surprise but yes, the Silver rabbit can come with a brown coat. The Silver rabbit is one of the oldest domestic rabbit breeds that exist. They date their origins as far as the 1500s. Some even say that the famous poet Sir Walter Raleigh introduced the breed to England. However, Silver rabbits are considered to be very rare these days.

The breed was then introduced in the United States and was recognized by ARBA in 1910. Today ARBA recognizes three coat colors for this breed: black, brown, and fawn. Silver rabbits have extremely soft fur. They can also weigh from 4 to 7 lbs. 

The coat of the rabbit is made of dense flyback fur and their coats are usually an unbroken color mixed with white guard hairs thus giving them the silvery sheen. 

11. Tan Rabbit 

Again, you guessed it right, this rabbit is famous for its beautiful tan fur. The Tan rabbit is a fancy breed of rabbit that traces its origins back to England in 1880. They came to be when a colony of wild rabbits bred with domestic rabbits. The resulting litter contained tan-colored rabbits and they were then continuously bred to become the Tan rabbits we know of today. 

The Tan rabbit has a very distinctive full-arched body. The Tan rabbit is one of the few full-arched rabbits breeds that are recognized by ARBA. They also have large ears that stand upright on their heads. 

All tan rabbits have orange-red highlight patterns on their coats but they can come in blue, lilac, or chocolate brown. 

Tan rabbits can weigh from 4 to 6 lbs and can live from 8 to 10 years. 

12. Harlequin Rabbit

The Harlequin is one of the most interesting rabbit breeds to have ever exist. They are named so because they very much resemble a harlequin’s mask.  They are also called “the clown of rabbits” because of their very distinctive face markings. 

Harlequin rabbits were bred in France in 1880 and they come in two coat colors: Japanese and Magpie. Japanese Harlequin rabbits are generally orange with a mix of any of the following colors: black, blue, chocolate or lilac. While the Magpie rabbits are generally white and are mixed with any of the following colors black, blue, lilac or chocolate.

Harlequin coat colors are usually present in bands or bars. You can easily identify a harlequin by the color of its face. Harlequins usually have two different colors of coats for each side of their face. They have two different colored ears and their feet are different colors too. Their underbellies are usually white or orange.

Harlequin rabbits have a commercial type of body and usually weigh from 6.5 to 9.5 lbs. They can also live from 5 to 8 years.

Conclusion

I hope I have interested you in my top 12 of the cutest brown breeds. Do you think we should do other coat colors next? You can send me a message with your ideas, I would love to hear them.