What’s the Rarest Eye Color, and Why? (2024)

The originalhumaneye color

Brown eyes are the most common: Over half the people in the world have them, according to the AAO. In fact, about 10,000 years ago, all humans had brown eyes. Scientists speculate that their elevated levels of melanin helped protect people from thesun’s damaging rays. But as people moved from the sweltering climates of Africa and Asia to the cooler environments of Europe, there was less need for this protection.

At some point in history, as humans migrated north, a gene mutation occurred to reduce melanin production, says Kaplan. When the eyes have less melanin, they absorb less light. That means more light is scattered out from the iris, or coloredpart of the eye, which reflects off the surroundings. Eyes with the smallest amount of melanin in them will appear blue, while those with a little more melanin will appear green or hazel.​

Different colored eyes

Some people have a conditionin whicheach of their eyes is a different color. With this condition, called heterochromia,a person’siris color doesn’tmatch. Whena person isborn with it or developsit soon after birth, it’scalled congenital heterochromia. Althoughrare in humans, it’srelatively common in cats, horses and dogs (especially Australian sheepdogs, Dalmatians and a few other breeds.)

Much of the time, heterochromia is caused by genetics, but when it develops in adult, it can be due to a medical condition such as glaucoma or eye tumors.

Find out more about heterochromiain“What Can Having Two Different Colored Eyes Mean?

What’s the Rarest Eye Color, and Why? (1)

What’s the Rarest Eye Color, and Why? (2)

Actress Elizabeth Taylor in the film "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof"

Archive Photos / Getty Images

Were Elizabeth Taylor’s eyes really violet?

Most people’s eyes are blue, green or brown, with some shades in between, notes Kaplan. This explains why your eyes may be dark green or hazel or even appear bluish gray. While Elizabeth Taylor made headlines with her violet eyes, her eyes were in fact blue. Blue eyes get their color from light that is coming in and being reflected out, so it is not surprising that they appeared as assorted colors based on lighting conditions.

Makeupcan bring out certain colors in the eye, Kaplan adds. Taylor also reportedly had a double row of eyelashes, a condition doctors call distichiasis, which helped accentuate her famous eyes. Some people with albinism do appear to have violet eyes, because the blood vessels in the back of their eyes can be seen under certain light conditions. People with albinism have little or no production ofmelaninpigment, which affects the color of skin, hair and eyes.

Video: These Meals Help Keep Your Eyes Healthy

What’s the Rarest Eye Color, and Why? (2024)

FAQs

What’s the Rarest Eye Color, and Why? ›

Gray: The Rarest Eye Color

What is the rarest eye color in the world and why so few people have it newsweek? ›

The 'Rarest' Eye Color

Only 2 percent of people have green eyes, "making it the rarest eye color, " Wong said in another post on Instagram in December. Boparai told Newsweek in February that the rarity of green eyes varies across the globe. In Europe, they're found in around 8 percent of the population.

Do purple eyes exist? ›

Although the deep blue eyes of some people such as Elizabeth Taylor can appear purple or violet at certain times, "true" violet-colored eyes occur only due to albinism. Eyes that appear red or violet under certain conditions due to albinism are less than 1 percent of the world's population.

Why are gray eyes so rare? ›

Grey eyes are very rare and are neither recessive nor dominant. Instead, they are thought to be the result of a genetic mutation which causes less melanin to be produced in your eye.

What is the most wanted eye color? ›

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.

What is the rarest eye color and why so few have it? ›

Gray: The Rarest Eye Color

With this change, gray now tops the list as the rarest eye color. Gray eyes may contain just enough melanin in the front layer to dim the blue wavelengths of light that are reflected back by the tissue of the eye. Dark gray eyes have a bit more melanin in the front layer than pale gray eyes.

Why are hazel eyes rare? ›

According to the World Atlas, only about five percent of the world's population have hazel eyes—just behind the rarest eye color, which is green. The rarity of hazel eyes can be attributed to the intricate genetic factors involved in their development, which includes the combination of melanin and Rayleigh scattering.

Did Elizabeth Taylor really have purple eyes? ›

Did Elizabeth Taylor have violet eyes? No she did not. Her eye colour were a beautiful shade of dark blue mixed with hints of grey which made it appear 'violet' under certain lighting and photographs.

Do pink eyes exist? ›

People with albinism have little or no melanin in their eyes. When they have very little melanin in their irises, they can have very pale blue or gray eyes. When there's no melanin in either layer of their irises, the blood vessels in their retinas are a lot more visible, making their eyes look pink or red.

Do black eyes exist? ›

Colors can range from a lighter chestnut to darker hues that almost seem to blend in with the pupil. 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.

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!

What color are Clint Eastwood's eyes? ›

Or, as he puts it with conscientious self-mockery and a flash of his green, green eyes, “the jerk from the plains.” Longevity in Hollywood can inspire embarrassing devotion and Eastwood, heading towards 80, finds much of what comes his way unseemly.

How to tell eye color? ›

The iris has pigmentation that determines the eye color. Irises are classified as being one of six colors: amber, blue, brown, gray, green, hazel, or red. Often confused with hazel eyes, amber eyes tend to be a solid golden or copper color without flecks of blue or green typical of hazel eyes.

What is the prettiest eye shape? ›

Eye Shape #1 - Almond Eyes

Almond eyes are considered the most ideal eye shape because you can pretty much pull off any eyeshadow look. And believe me, this is a huge plus! Almond eyes have an oval shape with a slightly upturned outer corner.

What is the strongest eye color? ›

The allele for brown eyes is the most dominant allele and is always dominant over the other two alleles and the allele for green eyes is always dominant over the allele for blue eyes, which is always recessive.

What color grabs the eye the most? ›

What Color Attracts the Human Eye First? If you've ever tried watching TV in black and white, you'll know the difference a splash of color makes. And when it comes to the color which catches our attention the most, you might be surprised to find that it's not red, blue, or even green. In fact, it's yellow.

Why are green eyes so rare? ›

Green eyes are the most rare eye color in the world. Only about 2 percent of people in the world have naturally green eyes. Green eyes are a genetic mutation that results in low levels of melanin, though more melanin than in blue eyes. Green eyes don't actually have any color.

What is the most populated eye color? ›

What's the most common eye color? The most common eye color is brown. More than half of the world's population has brown eyes (some experts include amber as a shade of brown, too).

Can two brown-eyed parents make a green-eyed baby? ›

Both parents with brown eyes: 75% chance of baby with brown eyes, 18.8% chance of baby with green eyes, 6.3% chance of baby with blue eyes. Both parents with blue eyes: 99% chance of baby with blue eyes, 1% chance of baby with green eyes, 0% chance of baby with brown eyes.

Are my eyes green or hazel? ›

Green eyes tend to have a mostly solid green color throughout the iris (the colored part of the eye). Hazel eyes, on the other hand, are multicolored. For instance, if you have green eyes with brown or gold flecks or a gradient of green, brown, and gold, then you have hazel eyes.

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