diff --git a/crates/svg/src/export.rs b/crates/svg/src/export.rs
index bfd01003..616b4771 100644
--- a/crates/svg/src/export.rs
+++ b/crates/svg/src/export.rs
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ fn write(doc: &Document, opts: &ExportOptions, native: Option<&[u8]>, id_prefix:
         body: String::new(),
         defs: String::new(),
         classes: Vec::new(),
+        class_ids: HashMap::new(),
         used_ids: HashSet::new(),
         names: HashMap::new(),
         depth: 1,
@@ -259,8 +260,10 @@ struct Writer<'a> {
     xf: Affine,
     body: String,
     defs: String,
-    /// Unique CSS declaration blocks; class name is `cls-{index + 1}`.
+    /// Unique CSS declaration blocks, in first-use order (used for deterministic output).
     classes: Vec<String>,
+    /// 1-based class/entity number by declaration; avoids a linear scan for each style.
+    class_ids: HashMap<String, usize>,
     used_ids: HashSet<String>,
     names: HashMap<NodeId, String>,
     depth: usize,
@@ -657,13 +660,13 @@ impl Writer<'_> {
 
     /// The 1-based number of a distinct declaration block (a CSS class or a style entity).
     fn class(&mut self, decl: String) -> usize {
-        match self.classes.iter().position(|c| *c == decl) {
-            Some(i) => i + 1,
-            None => {
-                self.classes.push(decl);
-                self.classes.len()
-            }
+        if let Some(&i) = self.class_ids.get(decl.as_str()) {
+            return i;
         }
+        let i = self.classes.len() + 1;
+        self.class_ids.insert(decl.clone(), i);
+        self.classes.push(decl);
+        i
     }
 
     /// `<metadata>`: the Dublin Core terms of File Info ([`ExportOptions::metadata`]) and the
diff --git a/crates/svg/tests/options.rs b/crates/svg/tests/options.rs
index d2c8cfda..0a57a103 100644
--- a/crates/svg/tests/options.rs
+++ b/crates/svg/tests/options.rs
@@ -29,6 +29,33 @@ fn doc() -> Document {
     d
 }
 
+/// A large palette should create one class per distinct declaration, preserving first-use
+/// numbers even when earlier styles recur after hundreds of others.
+#[test]
+fn many_css_styles_preserve_first_use_numbers() {
+    let mut d = Document::new(300.0, 10.0);
+    let layer = d.layers[0].id;
+    let colors = (0u16..256).chain([0, 128, 255]);
+    for (x, color) in colors.enumerate() {
+        let x = x as f64;
+        let appearance = Appearance::basic(Paint::solid(Color::rgb8(color as u8, 31, 63)), Paint::None, 0.0);
+        let n = Node::path(d.alloc_id(), shapes::rectangle(Rect::new(x, 0.0, x + 0.5, 1.0)), appearance);
+        d.insert(Some(layer), usize::MAX, n).unwrap();
+    }
+
+    for (styling, definition_marker) in [(Styling::InternalCss, ".cls-"), (Styling::StyleEntities, "<!ENTITY st")] {
+        let svg = export(&d, &ExportOptions { styling, ..Default::default() });
+        let paths: Vec<_> = svg.lines().filter(|line| line.contains("<path ")).collect();
+        assert_eq!(paths.len(), 259, "{styling:?}");
+        for (i, path) in paths.iter().enumerate() {
+            let number = if i < 256 { i + 1 } else { [1, 129, 256][i - 256] };
+            let expected = if styling == Styling::InternalCss { format!("class=\"cls-{number}\"") } else { format!("style=\"&st{number};\"") };
+            assert!(path.contains(&expected), "path {i} should reference {expected}: {path}");
+        }
+        assert_eq!(svg.matches(definition_marker).count(), 256, "{styling:?}");
+    }
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn every_combination_reads_back() {
     let d = doc();