Flexi answers - How do I have blue eyes if both my parents have brown eyes? (2024)

FAQs

Flexi answers - How do I have blue eyes if both my parents have brown eyes? ›

Flexi Says: Two brown-eyed parents (if both are heterozygous) can have a blue-eyed baby. If both the parents have brown eyes, then there is generally a 25% chance for their child to have blue eyes. Because both the brown-eyed parents have a recessive blue-eye gene and can pass it to the next generation.

Brown eye colour is dominant over blue eye colour. Therefore, for the brown-eyed parents having blue-eyed child, the possibility is that both have heterozygous genotype i.e. Bb. Therefore, from the square below, it is clear that there is a 25% possibility of blue-eyed (bb) child.

The only way to present blue eyes is to inherit two copies of the blue-eyed gene. However, brown-eyed parents can pass a recessive blue-eyed gene. Therefore, two brown-eyed partners can birth a blue-eyed baby.

So far, researchers know of dozens of genes and DNA mutations that can affect eye color. So, while parents' eye colors are a major factor, they aren't the only one. And sometimes, eye colors skip generations. So, if a baby's eye color doesn't match their parents', there are plenty of reasons why that might happen.

The laws of genetics state that eye color is inherited as follows: If both parents have blue eyes, the children will have blue eyes. The brown eye form of the eye color gene (or allele) is dominant, whereas the blue eye allele is recessive.

A child's eye color depends on the pairing of genes passed on from each parent, which is thought to involve at least three gene pairs. The two main gene pairs geneticists have focused on are EYCL1 (also called the gey gene) and EYCL3 (also called the bey2 gene).

Eye color was traditionally described as a single gene trait, with brown eyes being dominant over blue eyes. Today, scientists have discovered that at least eight genes influence the final color of eyes. The genes control the amount of melanin inside specialized cells of the iris.

In the daylight, the most visible color is a wavelength of 550nm; a color between green and yellow. Our eyes catch red, orange, and yellow the fastest.

The inheritance of eye color is more complex than originally suspected because multiple genes are involved. While a child's eye color can often be predicted by the eye colors of his or her parents and other relatives, genetic variations sometimes produce unexpected results.

Why are blue eyes so attractive? ›

Personality and pigment

Despite a lack of scientific support, most people probably have an opinion about eye color and personality traits. Respondents perceived people with gray eyes to be intelligent, quiet, and serious. Meanwhile, blue-eyed people were perceived to be expressive, affectionate, and confident.

So while many Asians do have the “blue-eyed allele”, blue eyes themselves are still quite rare.

While some people may appear to have irises that are black, they don't technically exist. People with black-colored eyes instead have very dark brown eyes that are almost indistinguishable from the pupil.

If two brunette parents both have a recessive blonde gene, there's a 25% chance they'll each pass down their recessive gene, resulting in a blonde child.

Another way to tell if a trait is recessive is if both parents and all their kids share that same trait. In our case here, both parents have brown eyes but they had a blue-eyed child. So this follows the first pattern meaning blue eyes are recessive. The same would be true for blonde hair.

Can I influence the colour of my baby's eyes? Your baby's eye colour is determined largely by genetics . Nothing you do or eat in pregnancy, or indeed after your baby is born, can change it. If both you and your partner have the same eye colour, there is a high chance your baby will too – but it's not a certainty.

While rare, purple or violet eyes can naturally occur, due to a mutation, inflammation inside the eye, or a condition called albinism.