Rare green eyes in humans
There are a lot of different eye colours in humans but some are more rare than others. Just look around you and take a good look at peoples eye colour. There is a high chance you will notice a lot of people with brown eyes. Brown eyes are by far most common in humans. In some countries, the brown eye colour is the only colour there is.
In other countries however, you would find a lot of diversity. Green, blue, hazel, grey and even violet eyes do exist as well.
In other countries however, you would find a lot of diversity. Green, blue, hazel, grey and even violet eyes do exist as well.
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| Green eyes in the Middle East |
Brown is the most common eye colour
In the US only 1 out of 6 people have a light (blue) eye colour. The brown eye colour is in the US the most prevalent. No surprise, because brown is also the dominant colour. In other countries, especially in northern Europe, brown is less common. Estonia for example is a very light eyed country with almost 98% having the blue eyes.
Africa is very brown
The further you go to the south, the more chance there is that you will find a person with brown eyes. In southern europe for instance, there is on average a change of 80% you will find a brown eyed person. Lighter eyes are also in southern Europe (Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece) less common. Further south, going to Africa, light eyes are almost disappeared.
Light eyes in Scandinavia
Scandinavians tend to have a very light appearence. Light eyes are definitely the standard in these northern countries. Sweden, Norway and Denmark all have high percentages of light eyed people. Also Finland and Iceland are extremely light with almost 90% of them having light eyes (green, grey and blue). Other ''northern'' countries like The Netherlands, Scotland and Germany have light eyed peoples too. In The Netherlands approximately 80% of the inhabitants have green or blue eyes. Germany (especially the northern part of the country) follows with almost 70% having lighter eye colours.
Green eyes are rare
Within the ''light'' eyed population, the green eyes are outnumbered by the blue eyes. Green eyes are dominant over the blue eye colour but there are only very few people that carry the genes responsible for green eyes. Only 1-2% of the entire human population have green eyes.
Shades of green eyes
Green eyes can look very different. They can be very dark, almost brown. Sometimes they are very light: almost neon. It all depends on the amount and type of melanin inside the iris. If you have a lot of melanin, your eyes look darker and if you have only a tiny bit, your eyes tend to look very light (bright).
The light green eyes are most common in Iceland, The Netherlands, Scotland, Ireland, Estonia and Scandinavia. Dark green eyes can be find all over Europe, the US and even in Pakistan.
The light green eyes are most common in Iceland, The Netherlands, Scotland, Ireland, Estonia and Scandinavia. Dark green eyes can be find all over Europe, the US and even in Pakistan.
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| Dark green eyes |
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| Light green eyes |
Green eyes and red hair
Scientist suspects there is a relation between red hair and the green eye colour. It looks like there is a high correlation between those two human traits. Having the red hair colour is also very unique (and recessive). Only 1 - 2 % of the entire human population have naturally red hair. Of course, not only red hair coexist with green eyes. Also blondes and darker hair colours tend to have green eyes (or the other way around).
Green eyes and gender
Normally, you would expect a 50/50 gender variation between the eye colours (blue, brown), but scientist found a positive correlation between being a woman and having the green eye colour. Why green eyes are more found in women is still unknown and it is not certain a gender differentiation actually exist. The findings could be biased somehow.
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| red hair, green eyes and being male: the odds are very low |
Hazel eyes are Green eyes?
Some people confuse hazel eyes with green eyes. Hazel eyes are also very rare but are different than green eyes. First of all, hazel eyes have more melanin. They look more brownish and are overall a bit darker, sometimes with a golden teint. People with hazel eyes often notice a considerable change in their eye colour, especially when a lot of light reflect on their eyes. Secondly, some green eyes have a lot of yellow pigment in them. Hazel eyes share this yellow pigmentation hence the confusion.
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| Eyes with a Green-Hazel colour |
Where do green eyes come from?
Green eyes can be found anywhere but you will find them most of the time in Europe. Some people believe green eyes came to existence due to a mixture of blue and brown eyes. This idea became popular because a lot of green eyes can be found in areas where brown and blue eyes came together. When we look at the map, the highest percentage of green eyes can be found in Scotland. Ireland also has (relative) a lot of green eyed inhabitants.
Green eyes have lipochrome. This lipochrome (also known as feomelanin) is a yellowish pigment. People with green eyes and especially those with amber coloured eyes have a lot of this yellow lipochrome inside their irises. Those with blue, brown or grey eyes usually don't have any lipochrome. When you have a lot of lipochrome inside your iris, you might have the amber eye colour. When you only have a small portion of this yellow pigment, your eyes might look a bit more green/blue-ish.
The combination of the yellow pigment and low amount of melanin gives rise to light green eyes. When you have a moderate amount of melanin but also lipochrome, your eyes probably look darker green. When you only have a low amount of melanin (and no lipochrome), your eyes look blue.
Light Green Eyes: (very) low amount of melanin + moderate amount of lipochrome
Blueish Green Eyes: (very) low amount of melanin + low amount of lipochrome
Yellowish Green Eyes: (very) low amount of melanin + (very) high amount of lipochrome
Dark Green Eyes: moderate amount of melanin + moderate amount of lipochrome
Brownish Green Eyes: high amount of melanin + moderate amount of lipochrome
Blue Eyes: (very) low amount of melanin (no lipochrome)
Brown Eyes: (very) high amount of melanin (no lipochrome)
Amber Eyes: (very) low melanin + very high amount of lipochrome
Grey Eyes: low amount of melanin (no lipochrome)
Heterochromia Iridum
Some people have a truly unique thing going on with their eyes: they have more than one colour! When one eye has a different colour than the other; it is called heterochromia iridum. When only a small portion of the iris has a different colour, it is called: partial heterochromia.
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| complete heterochromia: blue and green |
Very interesting article. I am glad you mentioned of an additional pigment, lipochrome, in green and amber eyes. Most articles just assume that green eyes are caused by an intermediate amount melanin. What exactly is lipochrome? Does it have other names?
ReplyDeleteOne additional point you may want to clarify: From what I've read elsewhere, for blue versus brown eyes, it's not just the amount of melanin but rather the location. Both blue and brown eyes have melanin in the back of the iris, but only brown eyes have melanin in the stroma, the front layer of the iris. That the location of melanin, and not just the amount, affects eye color makes intuitive sense, as there are people with dark blue eyes (high amount in back of iris, none in the stroma), and others with light brown eyes (moderate amounts in both back of iris and in stroma).
Thank you for your article. What source did you read that discussed the lipochrome - I can find very few articles mentioning it.
I have a question. Everyone in my family that I am blood related to (not including the children of some) have blue eyes. My brother is blonde with blue eyes and mine is brown with blue eyes. I was wondering if there is a layer of pigmentation under the first layer (the one everyone can see)? If you look up close to my eyes, I noticed that it appeared as if there was a second layer of pigmentation. I have my pupil and then green with black streaks. Then, I have my blue pigmentation with whitish streaks. To be honest, I don't know if my eyes are blue or grey. They only change to grey some times if I wear blue clothing. Also, the green layer is a dull green and when my pupil shrinks, the blue closes in, but the green doesn't appear to move. The green really looks like another layer. It's like oil and water trying to mix. They are right next to one another, but they aren't mixing and seem separate. Or a better example, when you poor gelatin onto colored paper. They don't mix, it just appears like the colored paper is a layer behind the gelatin. I've seen this is some pictures of eyes, but I don't know why it's like that. The blue seems to just, "disperse" you could say. Like, poring powdered lemonade into water, the powder sort of strings out (bad example). My friend has partial heterochromia. She was born with blue eyes and they didn't turn to hazel until she was around 5. There is a dark brown splotch in one eye that makes her whole eye look dark brown from a distance. Why is it that her eye color didn't change for such a long period of time and produced the splotch?
DeleteMy husband has awesome eyes like yours sound, except his have dark green, light green, yellow and Amber splotches that actually look red, then both his eyes have a different arrangement of these colors. One of his eyes has a lot more amber in it. Also what he wears seems to make them appear as different colors, lighting does and he emotions change the color too! When he is tired I swear his eyes turn dark green, when he is very angry they seen to sparkle with vibrant colors. I just have light brown eyes, two of our sons gave Brown eyes too, one has dark and the other light, only our middle sin has hazel Brown eyes, they look different with what he wears, lighting or his moods too. Your families eye colors seem very pretty especially yours. I am jealous, want to trade? I have always wanted gray, violet or very light green/bluish eyes. Beautiful colors!! Ps. Make sure you color coordinate some blouses, dresses, shoes, scarves, purses and make-up for those eyes of yours. Show the beauties off for those of us stuck with poo-poo eyes. ROFL
DeleteSorry Matthew, I was trying to reply to Mallory Perkins and my Kindle Fire decided to plot against me and publish my reply to the wrong comments. Ops!
Delete-Becca
This is interesting . Everyone in my family and my wifes family all have green eyes ! Never knew they were are !
DeleteEveryone in my family and my wifes family all have green eyes. Never knew it was rare. hmm....
DeleteDo the people trying to track the little blond girl found in Greece with the gypsy couple know of the low incidence and this article about green eyes. Most articles about the little girl say they are green. some say blue. Could you let them know of this research in this article because it may narrow the search for the true birth mother and hopefully father of this child. thank you very much, please act on it, you could solve the mystery of this missing child.
ReplyDeleteThe child in question is is not "missing" as you alarmingly proclaim as if the world is ending. The birth mother was traced almost immediately, and she is gypsy, yes!! Blonde and blue eyes. Live with it!
DeleteJeez dude, chill out haha!
DeleteDelia....that is so nice that you tried to help that child. Good for you. Ignore any nasty replies. The don't even sign their names.
DeleteHi, wanted to share my eye colour, may be you will find it interesting. I actually never met anyone with similar shade and my eye doctor says its very rare and unique
ReplyDeletehttp://i023.radikal.ru/1401/8d/099035b8948b.jpg
Hi, Olessya! They are very unique. My dad actually has the exact same type but the inside starburst is a bit smaller than yours. The eye doctor called it Blue-Honey eyes, but everyone calls then something different. Regardless --they are super pretty! :)
DeleteThat's because you descend from a reptile.
Deletewow Olessya your eyes are gorgeous my eyes look sorta like that but they are more of a silvery blue with white streaks
DeleteAwesome, looks like there is fire in your eyes. My eyes are army green with a bit or orange specks in there. Apparently my eye's are the rarest eyes amongst males.
Deletelooks cool
DeleteIts not uncommon but it is very interesting. My eyes are dark green with a gray ring around and small orange patches very interesting to look at, whatever combination. Better than solid blue or brown. No offence 98-99% of people
Deletemy eyes are a dark green when i get up in the morning but when ihave been outside for just a second and i look into a miros,they turn a light green shade.. i think i'm wierd but i'm sure it's like that with uther people.
Deletebut also,my eyes are outlined with a darker green then the shade of my ectual eye
and near the iris there's more of a silvery/bleu ish color.
is this wierd?
oh yeah, i also have,awkward,a bright yellow line in a circle a round my iris in the green part of my eyes!
can someone tell me if this is wierd or not
my eyes are hazel they change color depending on lighting sometimes they look more gold green or brown they also have a thin blue ring around the pupil
DeleteHi, That was very surprising to see replies and so many people posting.
DeleteI actually wanted to share a new picture I took. This is with slightly dilated pupils.
http://s018.radikal.ru/i524/1407/5d/1c93f043d304.jpg
Eyes don't change color, except when a baby's eyes turn into their permanent color. Color doesn't change due to mood, weather, lighting conditions (although some of these may give that illusion).
DeleteI can rub my eyes and they turn a different color.
DeleteOlessya, You and I Have Exactly the Same Colored Eyes. The Same Amount/Percentage of Green Outer and Yellow/Amber Inner Colors. Having Traveled Rather Extensively Years Ago Around the World and Right Up to and Until This Day, I've Never Seen Another Same Color/ed Pair of Eyes of the Few Thousand People I've Met/Encountered. Ms. Olessya, You, Your Eyes, Absolutely Amazing! J.j.Mann on FB.
DeleteHow about that one my 16 years old son has that color, and my eye color change day to day blue or green
Deletehttp://s017.radikal.ru/i421/1411/b1/c2f6edb34fca.jpg
@Olessya, I've seen many people with those colors in their eyes. I consider them to be a brand of hazel. And I know tons of folks with hazel eyes.
DeleteMy eyes look like yours but a little darker overall.
DeleteYes, Hazel. Lots of hazel eyes in Scotland and Ireland. Mine are the same. Some people say my eyes are green, some brown. When I look in the mirror I see a starburst of gold round the pupil on a green background with a ring of dark blue around the Iris. Have been told very often in brown eyed countries that they are beautiful. Was once followed around a Turkish town by a carpet seller proclaiming 'your husband very lucky man!' I'm Scottish and this eye colour is very common with red hair. Got it all from my Mum.
DeleteI have a friend who has eyes like that too!
Deletemy eyes look EXACTLY like that!!!!!!!!
DeleteHi my eyes are dark green after waking up but during the day are jade green. Does anyone else with green eyes have problems with sunlight and night blindness (when the bedroom light goes off, I know it's obviously dark but I do go totally blind as I can't even see the light crack through the door
DeleteOlessya, my daughter has very similar eye coloring as you. We don't know where it comes from as it is unique in our very large extended family. Might I ask your ethnicity?
DeleteI have blue/silver eyes and my wife's are light brown (carrying recessive blue). Our eldest daughter has strikingly blue eyes, then our youngest has eyes like yours. My wife has French Canadian/English/Italian heredity and my family has not been able to find any information outside of the US. However, we can trace family in the US since the early 1600's. I say 400 years is enough to say we're American.
OP, I have nearly the same exact color eyes as well. I think we have beautiful eyes :)
DeleteI have light green eyes that change color depending on what I wear for example when I wear blue I have specks of blue in my eyes
DeleteAnonymous I have eye color similar to Odessya's and I am 36% Europe West, 28% Great Britain and 12% Irish. I am a direct descendant of Robert the Bruce. Hope this helps.
DeleteNote: You have to look really hard to see the butterscotch and yellow highlights in my eye but they are there. When I was younger there was gold flecks mixed in too.
Hey Anonymous I,
DeleteI was born with baby blue eyes and had them until I was 5 when they changed to Hazel. I have a dk blue ring around the outside with the blue & yellow flashes that create the Hazel.
My 13th GGrandfather was a direct desendant of Charlemagne. That makes me Charlemagne's 26th-30th GGrandson. Makes me wonder how many Monarchs had green eyes?
Anony I I
Hi Olessya, my eyes are similar although yours are amber-golden and ice green while mine have a lighter yellow ring around the pupil and the rest of the iris is dark blue-grey (making them appear green). So they are not true green actually but heterochromatic (not hazel either as there is no actual brown, just yellow and blue-grey).
DeleteWhat is most unusual about your eyes is the shape of the amber ring, it's really thick and looks like a sunflower! So pretty!
My eyes were blue-grey until I was twelve and my mom's were the same color until she was in her forties (my brother still has bue-grey eyes, while my dad and sister both have sky-blue eyes). We both came down with the same autoimmune thyroid disorder and grew yellow rings which changed our eye color. Even though I have been in remission since I was fourteen my eyes never changed back. It's interesting how health can affect eye color.
That's really pretty. I've been trying to find an eye colour similar to mine on the web and I can't see anything when it comes up with green eyes. I've got goldfish brown around the pupil and a greyish blue green basic and then a really dark navy outline it's strange....
DeleteMy eyes are very similar, except that they have an outer medium bluish ring. They go from amber near the pupil to the overall color of green, and then have that bluish ring around the iris. I have been told they are very beautiful. One of my daughters has the same color eyes as me. The oldest has blue/gray eyes, and the youngest has a dark version of mine and my middle daughters eyes. Genes do funny things. My fathers eyes were a beautiful sky blue and my mothers were amber.
DeleteOlessya I have the same eye colour as you! :D But I have a bit more green :P
DeleteWow! Your eyes are beautiful, @ Olessya
ReplyDeleteI have Hazel/Green eyes and my mum has greyish blue and my dad has very dark brown... WHY!?
ReplyDeleteSometimes eye colour can skip one generation. Perhaps your grandparents had/have green/hazel eyes?
Deletemy dad had blue eyes my mom had dark brown i have hazel they change depending on lighting, they are a mix of brown/gold/green with a very thin blue ring around them
DeleteI am the youngest of 8, both parents were irish, black hair and blue eyes..all 7 siblings are the same..then came me, dark auburn hair and light green eyes...I guess I am a rarity!
ReplyDeleteI am a male with red hair green eyes freckles and pale skin. my parents had Brown and blue eyes.and dark hair.were the f.ck did I come from.?lol
ReplyDeleteI kind of have a mix of bluey-greyish-greeny eyes, with a darker ring aroung the outside.
ReplyDeleteInteresting Article. I've been wondering about my eyes ever since I was a kid as no-one could decide whether they were green or blue. Now it makes sense!
ReplyDeletei think my eyes are kinda weird, because they change their color all the time, i'd say they change as the weather changes. some days they are blue-grey, other days are blue-green, while sometimes they shift to grey with yellow shades. my parents have green eyes, and blue eyes.
ReplyDeleteMine are the same, people say Im crazy when I tell them they change color, all I can say is they dont know me very well if they have never noticed lol
DeleteWhen I was younger I always said that my eyes change color, and no one believed me until my mom was talking to me and one of my eyes, (I usually have green eyes) were half green half blue, perfectly down the center horizontally, and know, no says that I lie about it xD
DeleteThat's probably because you have hazel eyes like me. Mine do the same thing. But for me it's brown-green then brown then sometimes goldeny yellow.
DeleteThere is a red haired woman who comes into my work and I've talked to her on numerous occasions. I noticed one day that her eyes where blue, then the next time I talked to her they where hazel, the last time she came in they where grey. I asked her if she wore coloured contacts, she said no, her eyes change colour depending on the mood she's in. She says they'll change to every colour except brown.
Deletemine do the same , all depends on the mood when i'm in a good mood they go almost completly green very little brown at all and when i'm mad they almost go black so i have been told but thatsprobably just the pupils dialating
DeleteMy eyes are kind of the same they change colour's to, they go from a light ish green/gray to green/blue. witch makes sense becuase my mom had blue eyes and my dad has the same eyes as me witch change colour.But i really like my eyes :)
ReplyDeletealso my eyes change if i cry or what my emotions are.
ReplyDeletePeople tell me I have the greenist eyes there ever seen.sometimes I carnt belive how green they are.I all so have red hair.now turning snow white.
ReplyDeleteGreen eyes are indeed very special. The combination of red hair and light/bright green eyes is probably one of the most rare phenotype we know.
DeleteI am this type too Anonymous. Not turning snow white yet though. :) Always ready for a Jultide party in red and green ;)
DeleteI wasborn with Turwquoise Green eyes... there is a darl green ring around the outside of each of my irises.. oh and by the way, I have black hari,with copper highlights ....
DeleteAs far as i know there are only two members of my fammily who are green eyed... an aunt& myself...
my late parents.. dad hadlight brown eyes... mynother had medium/-lght blue eyes....
Ok, can you tell me which eye colour do I have? it' neither blue-ish green, nor yellow-ish. so what is it then? http://s11.postimg.org/vhqzbv09f/20140401_155401.jpg
ReplyDeletemaybe hazel I like!!!!! do your eyes change with light
Deletesea-green hazel
Deletei have almost the exact same color eyes! i always just call them green even though the change from inside to out from yellow to green to blue around the outside
DeleteI have the exact same eye shape and color- I actually thought this was a picture of my eye. Really Weird.
DeleteYou have blue Amber eyes. they change in light. My sister has same
Deleteweird indeed... Can you post the picture of yours? I'm Polish btw
DeleteHmm, that's actually really similar to my eyes! From a distance... Well, I don't know, since I wear glasses and thus when I take them off and try to see it gets all blurry, but I think they're a dull green from a distance. Then, when I look close up, there's a bit of yellow on the inside, and pretty much that color around with the darker grayish ring on the outside.
DeleteMy eye color is BLACK!!
ReplyDeleteIs it rare???
They are probably just really dark brown.
DeleteWhat I know from biology class is that they are rare in a gentic cross-over with someone with light-brown or blue eyes. Your eyes for sure have a lot of malanin in them, is your hair dark brown/black aswell?
Deletewell...i also have black eyes. my mother and dad have light Brown eyes. the funny thing is that my skin is very white
Deletemy eyes are a silverish blue with a yellow splash in the middle with white streaks through at random spots is that rare?
ReplyDeleteI think my eyes are green. But I have a weird dark ring around the edge of the color.
ReplyDeleteMe too, I think anyways. Does it look like an outline?
DeleteThey say it' s rare for people of African descent to have green eyes,(Black, Irish and Native American) but I do. Most people assume I wear contacts, then some know they are real. Two of my kids have my green eyes and my youngest daughter has blue eyes.
ReplyDeleteMy eye color is green- except I have seen no-one else with same sort of eye color. Its not a dark green or light, it has a bit of yellow (when I say a bit I mean A BIT) on the right side of my eye (if you were to look at them) and a dark blue in the left corner by my eyelashes. I'm from New Zealand also. Do you know what you would call it?
ReplyDeleteThe yellowish part probably has a lot of lipochrome, The dark blue part has no lipochrome, just a little melanin.
DeleteMy eyes are green. Also both my parents have green eyes, but both my siblings have blue eyes.
ReplyDeleteMy parents have both brown eyes, but I have blue/green though :-)
DeleteMy eyes are green with amber flecks radiating from my pupils and a thin dark green/grey strip around the outside of my iris.
ReplyDeleteI have relatively light green eyes, but the centers are starburst gold/blue with brown that fans out towards the edges. The blue is on my left, the gold is on my right.
ReplyDeleteI am blonde haired with green - pale minty green really - eyes. All natural. Entirely green with a tiny amount of gold near the pupil... by tiny I mean like 1-3%. With a darker hunter green line on the outside of the iris.
ReplyDeleteI am also Scandinavian blonde - so that is NATURAL pale blonde that ranges from straw in the summer to a coppery sand hue during the winter. I was born with white hair and according to my grandmother cornflower blue eyes.
Ironically everyone else - excep for dad who has hazel eyes - are blue or brown eyed. I'm the only person with green eyes even amongst family members who are red heads.
In my family I am unique. On my mothers side of the family they all have blue eyes. Actually they all have the same shade of blue. On my dads side they either have brown or blue. Me, I have light green eyes. Unique. My daughter has amber. I think she has amber because of my green eyes. Her father has brown, a darker brown. Fascinating.
ReplyDeleteBoth of my parents have blue eyes, and all of my cousins on my Mom's side have blue eyes. I have green eyes (I'm not sure if they're light or not). It's nice to find some one similar to me.
DeleteGreen eyes are very uncommon in the town and area where i live, i only met like.... 5 people with green eyes... me being one of them, i have blonde hair.... turned a bit dark gold now my father has sky blue eyes, mother had green my sisters all have blue eyes making me quote on quote.... the runt of the family, i love the colour green as well
ReplyDeleteWhat about silvery blue eyes that change color depending on what there wearing. Where do they come from, how and why?
ReplyDeletewhat if you have grayish-green eyes? with blonde hair?
ReplyDeletewhat about grayish-green eyes?
ReplyDeleteWhat if you have black hair & Sapphire green eyes?
ReplyDeleteThe are only members of my family who have green eye...
My aunt has dark green eyes & I have Sapphire green eyes..
the rest of my relatives have blue or brown eyes...
How dd this happen?
I have bright green eyes--so green that people stop and stare at me on the street on an almost daily basis--I know they are looking at my eyes and I'm used to it.
ReplyDeleteMy doctors say it is a genetic mutation but a recessive one that is unlikely to be reflected in my own children someday unless I marry someone with the same recessive gene. (Both my parents and all of my siblings have blue gray or hazel eyes.)
A "mutation" is a new occurrence, something not possible with the general genes available. Bright green eyes merely means you have more lipochrome and less melanin (or vice versa) than your parents and siblings. No worries!
DeleteI have Hazel/Green eyes and my mom also has green eyes but my grandma and great grandma have brown eyes. I have eyes in between light and dark green. Is this possible?
ReplyDeleteI can't work out which of these my eyes are:
ReplyDeleteLight Green Eyes: (very) low amount of melanin + moderate amount of lipochrome
Blueish Green Eyes: (very) low amount of melanin + low amount of lipochrome
Yellowish Green Eyes: (very) low amount of melanin + (very) high amount of lipochrome
Dark Green Eyes: moderate amount of melanin + moderate amount of lipochrome
Brownish Green Eyes: high amount of melanin + moderate amount of lipochrome
Any opinions would be gratefully received
http://s1325.photobucket.com/user/Natopmt/media/4949_113921626822_4971153_n_zps188672dc.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1
I'd love to see them, post a pic! I saw an elderly woman once, about 20 years ago who had shockingly azure blue eyes - maybe what would be called violet, it's the only time I have noticed someone else's eyes like that. It's happened to me a couple of times, but certainly not on a daily basis - please show us
ReplyDeleteQuite curious. I developed green eyes myself recently even though I'm 22. They were brown as a child, turned amber as a young teen, and before I reached my 20s they turned a very pale green eyes, much like the pale white-haired female under the description ''shades of green eyes''. Though I'm also photophobic and myopic.
ReplyDeleteCan someone please tell me, my eye color?
ReplyDeleteIt changes so much on my mood/lighting/clothes.
It can go from blue to green to grey..
http://38.media.tumblr.com/1c6e07d330eda694255c66ae0a752ba6/tumblr_n7wfu2iaqW1sddm2io1_1280.png
From the photos, I would say blue.
DeleteEyes DO NOT change color. The different coloring only stands out more under certain conditions. But no they do not change color based on MOOD. This myth needs to be put to rest.
DeleteEyes most certainly can change color. I know because mine did. Both my parents have hazel brown eyes. My eyes were blue from birth to the age of eleven when they gradually turned green and they are still green over fifty years later.
Deleteand the same thing happened to my first cousin when she was 11. I think it has to be genetic.
.
The eyes of the women in my family change starting around puberty to nearly 20. My mother and one sister went from brown to very green. I myself changed from very dark brown to light/medium brown.
DeleteMy eyes do this too! They don't go as dark as either pic (green or blue) but they tend to generally be blueish gray... whatever color you have most often is what I'd say... I always say my eyes are blue... but I've been thinking of changing over to gray...
DeleteNobody I know actually knows what color my eyes are. If anyone here could help I would be eternally grateful. I have a brown starburst around my pupil, which lightens to a light green. But around the green I have a thick bluish gray ring.
ReplyDeleteMy eyes are green with gold around the pupils. Both my parents have blue eyes. My only sibling has hazel eyes. My maternal grandmother has green eyes. We have Irish and Dutch decent! The strange thing is...I have black hair.
ReplyDeleteSounds beautiful...
DeleteMy eyes are light green with dark blue rings around the iris and a couple gold flashes inside..I have never met anyone with my eye color, but the time magazine Afghan girls's eyes are the closest to mine I have ever seen.
ReplyDeleteI have olive green eyes. In one of my eyes, 25% of it is blue!! Pretty rare, I love it. I have light brown hair naturally and always get compliments because it looks so striking.
ReplyDeleteI have one green eye. My other eye is 1/3 green, 1/3 brown, 1/3 blue. Its pretty awesome! -JLK
ReplyDeleteI have light-ish brown hair but in the sun looks blonde or browny red. I also have a mix of dark and light green eyes. I also have segments that are yellow. My brothers eyes are amber and my sisters are dark green. My mum has very dark green and my dad have blue, grey. I'm also from NZ :)
ReplyDeleteI am a redhead and have blue outline and then green which gose a bright irish green in sunlight then a hazzley brown is this rare
ReplyDeleteWell what I thought was interesting is that my cousin from mexico mentioned that most people in mexico have brown eyes..but my family from mexico has quite colorful eyes. She has green eyes, a cousin has blue green eyes, another cousin has gray blue eyes, another has green eyes, another has hazel, my grandma has blue, and everyone else has brown. just felt like saying that, hehe x
ReplyDeletegreat article:)
ReplyDeleteWhat about Dark blue?
ReplyDeletemy dad my mom and my three sisters all have green eye color
ReplyDeletemy eyes are brown
your mum must've had an affair then sorry. Green is a recessive colour and brown is dominant. There is no way for you to have brown eyes if both your parents have green eyes, it's just simple genetics
DeleteNot possible as brown is dominant over green. Your mum must've had an affair or maybe you're adopted
DeleteMy mum has very dark blue eyes, my dad has hazel eyes, my oldest sister has brown eyes, I have green eyes, and my younger sister has very light blue eyes. Strange :)
ReplyDeleteMy eyes are yellow-amber, my sisters are yellow-green, my brother has brown-orange, other sisters have hazel of different variations.....mum had emerald green and dad had sea blue....both amazing....
ReplyDeleteMy family on my mother's parents had brown (mom) and ice blue (dad). Only my mom and one of her brothers have blue eyes, which I thought couldn't happen because brown trumps light colors in eye color. My father's side all had blue eyes. I have light green/gray eyes. How is any of that possible?
ReplyDeleteI have no idea... My own parents and all of my grandparents except my grandpa on my dad's side have/had brown eyes, yet my eyes are... Well, I don't know; they'e either yellow-green or green-hazel. But anyways, by all logic I should have brown eyes. Glad I don't though; I'd look really strange with them XD
DeleteI'm a green-eyed blonde (female). My mother has dark hair and brown eyes, my 2 brothers have blonde hair and brown eyes, and my father is blonde with blue eyes. Why am I the only one with green eyes?
ReplyDeletemy mom also has hazel-brown eyes, while my dad has bright blue. My brother and I both have deep/emerald green eyes. I think what happened is that we received one color gene from each parent, blue and brown, which caused green. hope that helps :) xx
DeleteMy eyes, as my friends say, are like a forest in the morning with the sunlight going through the canopy. And around my irises is like a hazel color. Or something similar. I also have brown-red-blond hair. What is really strange is nobody in my family have eyes like mine. So what caused this? (PS: my mom has hazel eyes and my dad has blue eyes)
ReplyDeleteyour eyes sound exactly like mine! my mom also has hazel-brown and dad has blue. I think our green is caused by us receiving one color gene from each parent, rather than two of the same. We got one brown, one blue--the mix causes green color. the article explains the history of it, but it makes sense to me!
DeleteCan anyone tell me wat colour my are i get told they look green and brown or hazel but cant see enough brown or orange in the middle file:///storage/emulated/0/Android/data/.cliptray/1417637571068.jpg
ReplyDeleteI have small, deep set, gray green eyes; curved bone above eyes; about 5-7 lines running horizontally across the forehead; height is 177cm; tree bark hair color; hair is very wavy upwards (like the horns of a reindeer); am oldest of my brothers and a sister (she has yellowish light green eyes), but all of us look very different, as well as our parents; I have 100% genes from the old original inhabitants of Scandinavia and my father (he has light green eyes, larger than mine) is the 5. from a black woman from St. Croix, who was made pregnant by the dane Hans Gram, the secertary of governor Schimmelmann, and their son became a merchant in Iceland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Jonatan
ReplyDeleteEditing my comment from 21 December 2014 at 13:41:
ReplyDeleteEyes are green gray (rather than gray green) because the gray color is stronger.
Editing my comment from 21 December 2014 at 13:41:
ReplyDelete177cm is the average height of males on Earth, but in Africa height varies from very tall, at east, and very low in the jungle, at west.
my eyes are gold 'round the pupil, than yellow/green, than bright green, and surrounding it is dark green, i have dark brown hair, and on both my moms and dads sides everyone has blue or brown eyes, and blond or brown hair.
ReplyDeleteall my mom, dad, 3 brothers and 1 sister have brown hair and blue eyes.
my eyes are ... startling green, with black hair. my whole family for many generations (both moms and dads sides) has blue eyes, brown hair. why?
ReplyDeleteGenetics, read a good book or article about how genes work, especially how recessive genes are activated, and it will all make sense.
Deletemy eyes are a light green with a little ring of yellow and a outer gray circle lining the edge
ReplyDeleteHi everyone! I have green eyes too. Mine have a lot of yellow pigment that makes my eyes look light green
ReplyDeleteHere a couple of pics
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/simonweb/46124_424933466793_574886793_5064069_2109779_n_zps387c28f6.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/simonweb/2_zps1abee885.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbal_ring
ReplyDeleteI have hazel eyes with emerald green limbal rings and gold brown in the center. I always wanted blue eyes like my 3 siblings. Limbal rings can turn hazy blue in the elderly with high cholesterol.
The closest that I have ever seen to mine belongs to Milla Jovovich. My eyes are a icy blue with green flecks and a couple brown spots on one eye that I blame on heterochromia (thanks Mom). But, I also have a silver halo around both pupils & that is the one thing I can't find in any picture. My eyes have been known to go from silver to dark blue and turquoise (but never green or hazel), but the only times I really see the dark gray is when I'm sick.
ReplyDeleteI am of Irish descent, which was also kind enough to land me with freckles, curls & auburn hair (when I was a kid- it darkened to brown).
Are my eyes hazel?
ReplyDeletehttp://mdlmc.tumblr.com/image/111003146971
My eyes are hazel. They have a dark green ring around the iris. The outer iris is emerald green and my inner iris, around the pupil, is a light brown in a starburst pattern with streaks of this ocher color. In direct light they look like they're glowing, but in normal light I've been told they resemble fractured crystal (people can't tell what color my eyes are sometimes because of the green and brown.) My friends are always shining lights in my eyes and asking me to look into the light so they can see my eyes XD
ReplyDeleteHi would anyone care to tell me mine http://i62.tinypic.com/14jx40o.jpg
ReplyDeleteMy left eye is gray and my right eye is blue with gray rings. People say that my right eye looks like a storm... Deal with it
ReplyDeleteIf I may say the only person who can deal with it is you, those rings in the right storm is stress rings,the grey is dull blue.
DeleteThe left is grey , same dull blue, Just tells me you are not very happy & very stressed . Some Inner Healing would help from a Naturapath
I have light-medium green eyes. I have a pretty thick line of dark green (some days they look black) around my irises. Some days my eyes are greenish gold. Sometimes I have a gold-green ring around my pupil then a light green and then the dark green ring. I also have what I can only describe as scalloping (like an icing pattern on the side of a birthday cake) most days. The scalloping is a lighter green that makes a ring that's kinda bent but still connected, it's hard to describe. I have huge pupils that make me look like an alien, they are bigger or smaller depending on light, day and time of day. They take up most of my eye some days.
ReplyDeleteExtremely interesting!!! I have been trying to find my true eye color and this helped a lot because my eye is hazel green but changes to green to blue to red and green and blue and to yellow green and grey
ReplyDeleteI also note many green eyed people do not really have green eyes, they actually have blue eyes with a yellow overlay of toxin covering & after healing takes place the yellow fades to their clearer blue eyes. Blue & yellow green.
ReplyDeleteAlmost same here. My father has light blue eyes, my mother has brown eyes, my sister has hazel eyes, my other sister has greenish blue eyes, and I have very light green eyes.
ReplyDeleteAll of my immediate family has olive skin and dark brown hair and dark eyes except for my youngest sibling who has bright blue eyes. Does anyone know why? P.S. My great grandmother had green eyes. I donʻt know if this has anything to do with it, but my family is of Hawaiian and Yemenite descent.
ReplyDeleteWOW I must have VERY rare eyes.. Green with my right eyes being partially heterochromatic
ReplyDeleteI was just telling my beautiful blue eyed daughter yesterday that I wish I had her eye color instead of my boring green eyes. After reading this, I feel a little better about my boring green eyes. Thanks !
ReplyDeleteI have Green Eyes and black hair, my mother and sister have blonde hair and Blue Eyes but my father and brother have black hair and Hazel Eyes. I can't work out where my Eye colour comes from???
ReplyDeleteI have green eyes with a reddish tint to my hair. I'm Polish but hoping I have a little Scottish in me! (Anyone seen Outlander?)
ReplyDeleteI had dark green eyes and light brown hair, but both got darker when I got older, my eyes are now a light brown color and my hair is dark brown with light streaks in it, can anyone please explain what exactly happened ??
ReplyDeleteHi. I have dark green eyes with a dark blue outline. Everyone always calls them 'cat eyes'. LOL. I have definite Irish heritage. The funny thing is that everyone in my immediate and extended family has blue eyes, but I am the only one with green. And none of them can think of anyone deceased who had that color. Weird, huh?
ReplyDeleteMy eyes are Amber, basically an orange gold color, it's super cool.
ReplyDeleteAll my life I thought i had golden hazel eyes but they are a steady light green with not much change in colour either from golden green to light dark green in bright light. I always thought hazel was a light green color but i guess i was wrong.
ReplyDeleteI am a 52 year old half white and have native american Indian.I have brown eyes with gold and green flecks throughout them and a blue ring around the outer edge.Is there anyone else of same racial background with eyes like mine or does anyone know why they are as they are considering my racial background.
DeleteAll my life i thought hazel was a light greenish color but i guess i was wrong. My eyes change from light green to golden green depending on the amount of light. My dad also has green eyes but they are a really dark green and my mom has very light blue eyes so i guess that explains the yellow green that i have.. I just created a pof profile today and didn't know what to write down for my eye color and tried to figure what hazel is because it is written on my drivers license. I do have a bit brown in them but you have to look very closely to spot it so that is what kinda throws me off in trying to figure out if they are hazel or green. I could say they are 10 percent brown 30 percent yellow and 60 percent green.
ReplyDeleteHi, interesting article, though as a green-eyed, dark-haired AFRICAN lady I disagree with the the following statement. "Further south, going to Africa, light eyes are almost disappeared".
ReplyDeleteIn South Africa and Namibia especially, light coloured eyes are not that rare at all, in both countries there are so may different races/ethnic groups in Namibia there are at least 11 major groups. In the Baster community in Rehoboth you'll find a lot of light-eyed people with light hair, red hair is is not that rare as well. Their ancestors were mainly of Dutch and German origin, my great-grandfather was Irish. In my family from my father's side, close and extended most have blue, green eyes.
can someone help me I have no clue what colour my eye is it looks different at certin times but I have red hair and im 13 my mum has blue eyes and my dad has green eyes also my brother has green eyes mine are normally bluish greenish with a tiny bit of hazle yellow stuff what clour would that be ?
ReplyDeletei have dark green eyes...I am Austrian Hungarian and Slovakian....2% of people in the world have green eyes and about 18% of those people are Hungarian!
ReplyDeleteMy eyes change all the way from clear blue to a deep emerald. The norm is a muted shamrock or mint color with a dark green rim and golden-yellow circle around the pupil.
ReplyDeleteSame here! I have bright green eyes (commonly asked: "are those real?); mom has brown, dad has grayish-blue (also very unusual looking eyes); sister has hazel
ReplyDeleteMy eyes changed from dark brown to hazel after I bumped my head. I believe this is the work of hidden genes. My grandfather has hazel eyes and my mother has brown eyes and my father has blue eyes so there would have been a 50% chance of having brown eyes; which I had then I would if anything have the hazel eyes genes because I got one of my mother's X chromosomes instead of my fathers since I am male.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how many green/olive/hazel/ amber eyed peple there are here!! How can this be, since green and hazel are such rare colors?
ReplyDeleteI have hazel eyes too. They are so dark they look brown, but outside in the sun they look green. Dad has dark brownish green, mom has silver, very light grey. My hair color is dark ash, dark but not so much brown..not black either. Awful color if you ask me. By bro is really blond and has very blue eyes.. funny genes.
My mother has green eyes (not dark), my father had very light green-blue eyes. I have green eyes. We're northern Italians. Blue and green eyes are very common in northern Italy, as well as brown.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad's are SKY blue, my mother's are Brown. Mine are GREEN. I'd say low melanin, middle lipochrome.
ReplyDeleteWeird, right? And no, I'm not adopted, and yes, I'm dad's. (the island is too small, trust me.)
i have light blue eyes with light green limbal but sometimes they are all blue
ReplyDeletei have light blue eyes and a green limbal then it turns blue at other times
ReplyDeletelight blue eyes with green limbal optometrist cannot make out my eye color weird huh
ReplyDeleteHave green eyes, I've been told more than once by women that they love my eyes, now that I know the small amount of men that have my eye color I can see the novelty and appreciation of my eyes rarity and appearance.
ReplyDeleteI also! Mi dad has brown eyes, my mom hazel and two of my brothers have brown eyes, another very light blue eyes and I have green ones
ReplyDeleteI have very dark green eyes. My mom has green eyes with the slightest bit of brown around the edges, my dads eyes are really light blue and my sisters eyes are green/blue hazel. I'm the only blonde. Everyone else is a brunette.
ReplyDeleteI think I have sea green eyes mixed with grey because my eyes flip through green, blue, grey, and teal/turquoise kind of changes. People say I have hazel eyes because of the gold ring around the pupil. I also have one fleck of heterochromia in one eye and it's not noticeable unless your face is too close for my comfort. I was even told once that my eyes had become mahogany red colour for a minute in a certain light but I couldn't try it and its yet too happen again. So I dount know what eyes I have but on legal paper I have to put hazel.
ReplyDeleteI'm full Asian with brown eyes as a kid, but over the years they have lightened. I would say that they are hazel as they change color in the light. In my twenties, I noticed a green spot in one eyes, and now, in my forties, I have a gold-green ring that surrounds a light brown ring around the iris. So Asians can have light eyes!
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many of us out there with unusual eye colors also have a rh negative blood type?
ReplyDeleteMy family has weird eye colors as well. My mother has brown eyes. My dad has green eyes. My grandfather has silver with a hint of green. My brother has blue/green eyes. My grandmother has hazel eyes. I myself have grey blue/grey green eyes. The color depends on the amount of light in the room. Strange, right? By the way, I am Serenity_Small Lady on scratch if you want to see my projects.
ReplyDeleteMy eye color is grey blue or grey green, it depends on the lighting in the room that I am in.
ReplyDeleteMy dad has brown eyes, both brothers have amber/brown eyes, mom has blue eyes and I have green eyes. Also, I was born brown haired, then at one year old I had red hair, then blonde and again light brown as of now. My mother was the same way but stayed blonde.
ReplyDeleteI have brown eyes and my kids father have brown eyes as well, my youngest was born with hazel eyes sometimes they look very green and yellow in the sun, I can't get enough of them.
ReplyDeleteI have hazel eyes that look greyish with a orange ring around my pupil just like my mom, which has a hint more of brown but, my sister also has hazel but no ring and my dad brown eyes. I don't understand the reason for it being a orange ring?
ReplyDeleteMy eyes are very yellow green ( not a hint of blue) encircled with darker green with a couple of tiny copper dots thrown in. I've always thought just green but this article made me take a closer look. I'm Australian but of distant Irish and German descent so I suppose that makes sense.
ReplyDeleteso green eyes seem plentiful here (52%) not as stated (1-2 %) comments seem also to be lacking with regard to the result of this poll and the abundance of all these green eyed pollers ��
ReplyDeleteInteresting article. Might explain a bit about my eyes shifting colors to a yellow or yellow amber at times. Not to sound strange, but it is true, I have noticed my eyes shifting during a full moon or when aroused.
ReplyDeleteHey does anyone else call there eyes murky and an unknown color or is that just me. I have asked around and the responses I have received are all over the range of colors from dark brown to gray. Any idea what could cause this?
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry but is no one else picking up the fact that you stated silver eyes...who has silver eyes??? Are your family members ones that you created in WoW? Or do you descend from angels? I've never seen anyone with silver eyes.
ReplyDeleteI have an eye color that I really cant determine at first it looks green but looking closer it looks grey with a lot of flecks of gold and a ring of light brown around the pupil. I wish I knew what exact color to call it
ReplyDeletei have blue eyes w/ white flecks in them, is this rare???
ReplyDeleteMy dad's eyes are really dark blue with some dark grey lines. My mother's are so light blue they're violet half the time. And mine go from dark blue/grey molted pattern to a dark blue/green molten pattern.
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I have been told by some people that I have green eyes, and by others that my eyes are hazel. Given that I am also colour-blind [red/green], it is enormously confusing! I have to rely entirely on the perceptions of the viewer to know my own eye colour and when asked what colour my eyes are I have to admit that not only do I have no idea, but that nobody else does either. Anyone else out there have this problem?
ReplyDeleteMy husband was color blind and blue eyed. I have brown eyes. Two of our 4 children have hazel eyes. But at different times of the day their eyes have more blue than green. When they have to fill out forms they just stuck with the hazel color. I doubt there's any scientific info to back it up but I think people with hazel eyes are extremely special to God. So, stick to saying your eyes are hazel when it comes to legal firms. But in life in general, enjoy beingspecial. :). :).
DeleteWondering if anyone has the same eye colour as me? When I've been asked for my eye colour, I say "Well, your guess is as good as mine" and then I've baffled the authorities. They're 4 distinct colours in one. They start off with a dark grey ring around the edge, then they blend into a marine-blue, the area closest to the pupil is taken up with a very bright green and I have flecks of hazel running throughout... mystery!
ReplyDeleteToday I met a jeweler who has a birthdate of July 22. I said that my son also was born on that date. he then states that I bet he has hazel eyes. Mine are blue, by the way. He says that there is a large group of people with the July 22 birthday who have hazel eyes. He became aware of this in California some years ago and has continually asked the same question of anyone with the same birthday as his. What gives??
ReplyDeleteI've seen people with dark skin and light gray eyes, which would be described as silver. Don't be an ass just because you haven't seen it yourself.
ReplyDeleteI have green eyes. There is a blue ring on the inside, and a green ring on the outside. Everyone calls it gray!
ReplyDeleteI have brown eye's, people stop and tell me they are beautiful bright brown eye's .
ReplyDeleteThe thing I have dark brown hair green eyes and I'm very light skinned and I'm not from any of those places i took after my dad he has green eyes light pale skin and dark brown hair he also wasn't from any of those places
ReplyDeleteI have olive green amber eyes with a blue ring around the iris. In the center of the iris you can see a bit of amber with yellow. I like to think I have green eyes as hazel eyes are a light brown not green, according to some sources.
ReplyDeleteI'm confused about my eye color I wear glasses and when I have them on my eyes are hazel but when I take them off there lighter also when I'm in the sun they look sort ofbears green and when I'm in the bathroom and I look into the mirror they look light green and have a brown/blue outline around my eyes and I also have blond hair
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting article. Now, I have a green eye & a blue eye. What is going on with that?
ReplyDeleteMost people in my family have blue or brown eyes, but I have dark green with VERY dark blue streaks, while my brother, father, and relatives have blue. But my mom and other brother have hazel...
ReplyDeleteWell -- I found 'my people'. *smile* I have eyes as green as can be. My hair is ash/blonde but in the sun there is much red. My skin is ivory, and I hail from Ireland (at least genetically 98.9%) Here is a question I have always had -- why, when I cry, do my eyes turn a neon-like green. It's kinda spooky!
ReplyDeleteMy eyes are "silver" (light grey and yellow) with a very dark grey limbal ring. My entire family has plain ol' steel blue eyes. If I could post a picture, I would.
ReplyDeleteMy son's dad's eyes are dark, dark brown. My son came out with Chestnut eyes- greenish outside and a reddish brown inside.
Eye color is way more complicated than "mom has brown, dad has blue." We all carry 2 sets of genes and mutations happen along the way. It's definitely possible for 2 blue eyed parents to have a brown eyed child and vise versa. The genetic color possibility charts are online. You also have to remember that we aren't clones of our parents. Variations happen.
My eyes are green with yellow and blue mixed in the middle. I've gotten compliments on them many of time.
ReplyDelete