Richie and Dan immortalised in paint - cans

A new range of colours in the name of some of New Zealand's best known sports stars and politicians will soon be on the store's shelves. Photo / Getty Images

Forget the knighthood and the keys to Auckland - a new range of black paint will be named after double Rugby World Cup-winner Richie McCaw.

DIY giant Mitre 10 recently polled customers seeking ideas for Kiwi paint names.

As a result, a new range of colours in the name of some of New Zealand's best known sports stars and politicians will soon be on the store's shelves.

Among the most popular suggestions from punters were two new shades of black.

One is called McCawesome, the other is dubbed Carter Mana - a tribute to All Blacks goal-kicking king and World Cup final man-of-the-match, Daniel Carter.

A John Key blue will reflect the colour of the National Party and a Helen Clark fiery red will namecheck the former Labour Party leader and ex-PM.

"It is no surprise that the All Blacks featured heavily," said Mitre 10 general manager of marketing Dave Elliott.

"It might not be long before people are having their back gates McCawesomed or Cartered. In Richie's case we might have to soon change the name of the paint to Sir McCawesome.

"We will introduce the new paint range as soon as we can."

McCaw and Carter's agent Dean Hegan said the use of player's names for promotional purposes was closely monitored by player management and New Zealand Rugby bosses.

He had not heard of Mitre 10's new range but doubted it breached any copyright issues. "The paint names sound more like a bit of fun than anything else."

About 1500 customers responded to the Mitre 10 survey.

Other suggestions for New Zealand-themed paint colours include a pavlova white and a Kiwi-as beige.

The research revealed Kiwis are conservative when choosing colours - 72 per cent mostly stick to neutrals, and only 15 per cent opted for bold colours.

Green was the most popular colour, followed by cream.