Whether you have dark or light eyes depends almost entirely on genetics. Eyes come in a wide range of colors, some more common than others. These colors include blue, gray, green, hazel, and all the shades of brown—some so dark they almost look black. The more melanin that you have in your eyes (specifically in the stroma, one of the layers in the colored part of your eye known as the iris), the darker your eyes are.
Eye color used to be thought of as a pretty simple trait. Brown-eyed parents, it was thought, could have kids with any eye color—although they usually had brown-eyed kids. And blue-eyed parents, it was believed, could only have children with blue eyes. In this overly simple scenario, the brown eye color was "dominant" over the blue eye color.
It turns out that in real life, the inheritance of eye color is a bit more complicated. More often than this simple model in which brown eyes are dominant might predict, blue-eyed parents can have brown-eyed kids. This is because more than one gene is involved in the eye color trait.
Scientists have identified four well-studied markers linked to eye color in the TYR, OCA2, and HERC2 genes, and near the SLC24A4 gene. Your pattern at these genetic markers is what determines your eye color result. Some people have markers linked only to light eye color. Some have markers tied only to dark color. And others have a combination of both light eye color markers and dark eye color markers.
The most rare eye color in people around the world is green. The most common color is brown.
It's likely that originally all humans had brown eyes. Around 6,000 to 10,000 years ago a genetic mutation popped up in the Black Sea region that likely led to blue eyes. Actually, if you have blue eyes that does not indicate your having blue eye pigment. Instead, it indicates the front part of your eye has hardly any pigment at all. blue eyes indicates the lack of pigment, not the dominance of any particular color.
It's likely that originally all humans had brown eyes. Around 6,000 to 10,000 years ago a genetic mutation popped up in the Black Sea region that likely led to blue eyes. In fact, all blue-eyed people have are believed to have a common ancestor: a European from the Black Sea region who probably lived between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago.
Blue eyes are most common in Northern Europe. A relatively high percentage (27%) of blue-eyed people in America is partially thanks to Americans with Eastern European, Irish, and British ancestry.
Today, brown is still the most widespread eye color in the world. Light brown eyes are most common in the Americas, West Asia, and Europe, while dark brown eyes are most frequently found in Africa, Southeast Asia, and East Asia.
Green eyes are most frequently found in Northern and Central Europe. Although green eyes can occur naturally in all races, about 16% of people with green-eyed people are of Germanic and Celtic ancestry. To be more precise, a staggering 86% of people from Ireland and Scotland have green eyes.
Less than 1% of the world’s population has gray eyes, which makes them one of the least common eye colors. The shades of gray eyes may vary from greenish to smokey blue to hazel-brown, which often depends on the environment, especially lighting. They are most common in Northern and Eastern Europe.
FAQs
So, it is entirely possible for someone with European ancestry to have brown eyes or for someone with African ancestry to have blue eyes. While ancestry does play a crucial role in determining eye color, it is not the only factor at play.
What is the rarest eye color in the world? ›
Gray: The Rarest Eye Color
| Eye Color | U.S. Population | World Population |
|---|
| Gray and other | Less than 1% | Less than 1% |
| Green | 9% | 2% |
| Hazel/amber | 18% | 10% |
| Blue | 27% | 8% to 10% |
1 more rowJan 1, 2024
One thing these survey results have in common is that light-colored eyes — green, gray, blue, and hazel — are named as the most attractive eye colors in the world. In one large survey of more than 66,000 people, green was chosen as the most attractive eye color.
What ancestry has the most green eyes? ›
Where in the world are the most green eyes? The highest concentration of people with green eyes is found in Ireland, Scotland, and northern Europe. In fact, in Ireland and Scotland, more than three-fourths of the population has blue or green eyes – 86 percent! Many factors go into having green eyes.
What race has hazel eyes? ›
Hazel eyes are more common in North Africa, the Middle East, and Brazil, as well as in people of Spanish heritage.
What country did green eyes originate from? ›
Green. Green eyes probably result from the interaction of multiple variants within the OCA2 and other genes. They were present in south Siberia during the Bronze Age. Green eyes are most common in Northern, Western and Central Europe.
Do purple eyes exist? ›
While rare, purple or violet eyes can naturally occur, due to a mutation, inflammation inside the eye, or a condition called albinism.
What is the rarest hair and eye color combination? ›
According to an article by evolutionary biology professor Mark Elgar, PhD, of the University of Melbourne, blue-eyed redheads are the absolute rarest, with 0.17% of the population having that combination of hair and eye color. So if that describes you, you're most likely one in a million—or more!
Why were Elizabeth Taylor's eyes purple? ›
Colored contacts weren't commercially available until 1983, so Taylor wasn't faking it. However, she was born with a very specific and rare amount of the pigment melanin. The appearance of the iris, or the colored ring around a person's eye, is determined by how much melanin it contains.
What is the healthiest eye color? ›
Brown Eyes Are Associated With Few if Any Health Risks
“In general, everyone should make sure to wear 100 percent UV-blocking sunglasses when outdoors to minimize their chances of developing cataracts and other eye diseases,” Abugo advises.
In a website poll of over 66,000 respondents, 20% said green was the most attractive, followed by hazel and light blue at 16%. Brown was far and away voted the least attractive (6%).
What is the strongest eye color? ›
Brown and green alleles will always out-rule blue alleles, with brown being the most dominant. Blue will always be recessive. If both parents have a blue allele, it is likely that the child will have blue eyes.
Are green eyes a Neanderthal trait? ›
Study finds brown eyes and dusky skin in human relatives. In museums around the world, reproductions of Neandertals sport striking blue or green eyes, pale skin, and gingery hair.
What race has more green eyes? ›
The largest concentration of green eyed people is in Ireland, Scotland and Northern Europe. In Ireland and Scotland, 86% of people have either blue or green eyes. There have been 16 genes identified that contribute to eye colour.
Where do hazel green eyes come from? ›
Anyone can be born with hazel eyes, but it's most common in people of Brazilian, Middle Eastern, North African, or Spanish descent. When eyes are hazel, they are brown mixed with amber and green. In some cases, there are shades of gray, blue, and gold within the iris too.
Is eye color in humans the result of inheritance? ›
In the most elementary form, the inheritance of eye color is classified as a Mendelian trait. On the basis of the observation of more than two phenotypes, eye color has a more complex pattern of inheritance. Eye color ranges include varying shades of brown, hazel, green, blue, gray, and in rare cases, violet and red.
Which parent do you inherit eye color from? ›
The inheritance pattern of eye color can vary depending on the genes involved. In general, brown eyes are dominant over green and blue eyes, meaning that if one parent has brown eyes and the other has green or blue eyes, their children are more likely to have brown eyes.
Does your eye color mean anything? ›
Sometimes, your eye color can also have a link to your risk for certain diseases. People with brown eyes may have a higher risk of developing cataracts. And people with blue eyes may be more resistant to the effects of mental health conditions like seasonal affective disorder.
Do grandparents' eye colors affect babies? ›
Two brown-eyed parents are likely (but not guaranteed) to have a child with brown eyes. If you notice one of the grandparents has blue eyes, the chances of having a blue-eyed baby go up a bit. If one parent has brown eyes and the other has blue eyes, odds are about even on eye color.
Whether you have dark or light eyes depends almost entirely on genetics. Eyes come in a wide range of colors, some more common than others. These colors include blue, gray, green, hazel, and all the shades of brown—some so dark they almost look black. The more melanin that you have in your eyes (specifically in the stroma, one of the layers in the colored part of your eye known as the iris), the darker your eyes are.
