When Do Green Eyes Develop?
Green Eyes Trivia – 10 Fun Facts About Green Eyes –
- Green eyes are very 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.
- The less melanin in the iris, the more light scatters out, which makes the eyes look green.
- Ever heard from someone that their eyes change color? Turns out, it’s somewhat true.
- Changes in light make lighter eyes look like they are changing colors, sort of like a chameleon.
- 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.
- However, just for fun – here are some personality traits that have historically been associated with green eyes in fables and folklore: intelligence, passion, mysteriousness, creativity, jealousy, and great leadership skills.
- Grab your shades.
- Because green eyes have less melanin than brown eyes, people with green eyes are more likely to be extra sensitive to UV rays.
Green eyes don’t actually have any color. That’s right – strange but true! While green eyes appear that lovely shade of emerald to the outside observer, the irises themselves have no actual pigment. Similar to blue eyes, the color we perceive is a result of the lack of melanin in the iris.
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. Sixteen separate genes have been identified as contributing to eye color. So, no matter what eye color your parents have, yours could end up being just about any color. Green eyes naturally occur in all races of people. 
Liqian, China is a hot spot for green eyes. There is a village in China called Liqian, in which two-thirds of all inhabitants today have green eyes and blonde hair. Green eyes and blonde hair are a rare combination. The high concentration of green-eyed, blond-haired people in Liqian is thought to be linked to their ancestry. 
Can green eye color affect personality? This particular topic may all be in the eye of the beholder (punny, huh?). There is no scientific data to prove that eye color is a factor in determining personality, and we will go on record as saying eye color does not affect personality.
The more melanin, the better protection from the sun – eye pigment literally protects the retina. Like blue-eyed people, those with green eyes are more sensitive to sudden increases in light. 
Green eyes are popular in pop culture. Green eyes may be the most rare of all natural eye colors, but you’ll see green peepers all over the silver screen. Green eyes are also incredibly popular in books. Some well-known green-eyed characters in books and movies include: • Harry Potter – from the Harry Potter book series by J.K.
Rowling • Mary Jane Watson – The Amazing Spider-Man comics • Batgirl – DC Comics • Catwoman – DC Comics • Loki – Marvel Comics • Petyr Baelish – A Song of Fire & Ice by George R.R. Martin • Scar – The Lion King • Jane Eyre – Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte • Rapunzel – Disney’s Tangled • Asami Sato – Legend of Korra Green eyes don’t affect LASIK candidacy.
The Truth About Green Eyes
No significant link has been found between eye color and quality of vision. Green-eyed people can have myopia (nearsightedness), astigmatism, or hyperopia (farsightedness), just like people with any other eye color. Green-eyed people can also have LASIK vision correction,
Your Eyes Deserve the Best We hope you enjoyed our top 10 trivia facts about green eyes. Whatever your eye color, you’ll no doubt agree vision is one of the most treasured senses. Your eyes are your window to the world. That’s why you shouldn’t settle for anything less than your best vision possible.
If you’re currently dealing with the nonstop hassle of foggy glasses or uncomfortable contacts, give our world-class experts a call. Kugler Vision has been voted Best of Omaha #1 LASIK provider for four consecutive years, and we’d love for you to come in and see the Kugler Vision difference for yourself.
Book your EyeAnalysis assessment today online, or call us at 402-558-2211 to learn about your LASIK options. See you soon! 
Lance Kugler, MD, is a specialist in LASIK and vision correction surgery and CEO of Kugler Vision, A proud Omaha native, he is passionate about improving lives through clear vision. Dr. Kugler serves on several national boards, and his practice is recognized internationally as a center of excellence.
Dr. Kugler is one of the original founders of the Refractive Surgery Alliance, an international organization comprised of over 350 of the world’s leading vision correction surgeons; he also served as its first president. In 2019, Dr. Kugler was selected as a TEDx speaker, and delivered a talk in Omaha about the worldwide epidemic of nearsightedness and refractive solutions.
Dr. Kugler is an Associate Professor of Refractive Surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Truhlsen Eye Institute, has been published in many medical journals, and participates in numerous clinical studies to advance the field of vision correction surgery.
How do you know if your baby will have green eyes?
What color eyes will my child have? – There’s no guarantee when it comes to your offspring’s eye color. While a baby inherits half of their eye color genetics from one parent and half from the other parent, the way that the genes interact also plays a role in determining eye color.
- Differences in eye color are also influenced by differing amounts of melanin, the pigment responsible for eye color (plus hair color and skin tone).
- For instance, many white non-Hispanic babies are born with blue eyes because they don’t have the full amount of melanin present in their irises at birth.
As the child grows older, if they’ve developed slightly more melanin in their irises, the eyes will be green or hazel, When the iris stores a lot of melanin, the eyes will be amber (a golden brown), light brown or dark brown. Even though you don’t know the amount of melanin your baby will have, you can still get a pretty good sense of eye color from the parents’ eye colors.
Two blue-eyed parents are likely to have a blue-eyed child, but it’s not guaranteed. Two brown-eyed parents are likely to have a brown-eyed child. Again, it’s not guaranteed. Two green-eyed parents are likely to have a green-eyed child, although there are exceptions. Two hazel-eyed parents are likely to have a hazel-eyed child, although a different eye color could emerge. If one of the grandparents has blue eyes, the odds of having a baby with blue eyes increases slightly. If one parent has brown eyes and the other has blue eyes, the chances of having a brown-eyed or blue-eyed baby are roughly even.
The Fertility Institutes, which offers fertility services in California, New York, Utah and Mexico, offers the following odds of a baby’s eye color based on the parents’ eye colors. (Due to rounding, percentages don’t always add up to 100%.)
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. Both parents with green eyes: 75% chance of baby with green eyes, 25% of baby with blue eyes, 0% chance of baby with brown eyes. One parent with brown eyes and one parent with blue eyes: 50% chance of baby with brown eyes, 50% chance of baby with blue eyes, 0% chance of baby with green eyes. One parent with brown eyes and one parent with green eyes: 50% chance of baby with brown eyes, 37.5% chance of baby with green eyes, 12.5% chance of baby with blue eyes. One parent with blue eyes and one parent with green eyes: 50% of chance of baby with blue eyes, 50% chance of baby with green eyes, 0% chance of baby with brown eyes.
Keep in mind that it may take six to 12 months for a baby’s true eye color to emerge, so the color you see at birth can certainly change. SEE RELATED: Is it true all babies are born with blue eyes?
When can a child have green eyes?
Baby eye colour progression – Eye colour starts to change in baby’s, says Kirsten North, an optometrist in Ottawa. “I’d say by nine to 12 months, for the majority of babies this colour is locked in. In a minority of kids, though, eye colour can keep getting darker up until age five or six.” As melanin is added to the iris, the colour changes from blue or grey to green or hazel, and then brown, she says.
How do green eyes start out?
Green Eyes – Only about 2 percent of the world’s population has green eyes. Green eyes are a genetic mutation that produces low levels of melanin, but more than blue eyes. As in blue eyes, there is no green pigment. Instead, because of the lack of melanin in the iris, more light scatters out, which make the eyes appear green.
How late can eyes turn green?
When Does a Baby’s Eye Color Stop Changing? – Your baby’s eye color may start to change during their first year, but it may not be totally set for a few years. Research has found that most children’s eyes will stop changing color when they’re around 6 years old. But about 15% of people have changes in eye color all their life because of their genetic makeup.
Can baby have green eyes if parents don t?
A couple’s children can have almost any eye color, even if it does not match those of either parent. Currently it is thought that eye color is determined by about six genes, so you can imagine how inheritance of eye color becomes very complicated. There are some characteristics of various plants or animals that are determined by two simple genes.
Let’s think about this situation. If we say brown is dominant to blue (and we pretend that eye color is decided the way you learned it), someone with brown eyes, like your mom, may be carrying one blue allele and one brown allele (but only the brown shows up). She can pass either of these alleles on to her offspring, so in theory, even though brown is dominant, a brown eyed mom and a blue eyed dad could give birth to a blue eyed child.
Now imagine a third green allele, which is dominant to blue, but recessive to brown. If your mother carried the green allele (but only her brown shows up), she could easily pass the green allele on to you (and in terms of probability, would do so 50% of the time), and matched with your dad’s blue allele, you would have green eyes.
- This is a nice way to think about it, but again, eye color is much more complicated, and involves genes that determine the amount of pigment in your eyes, as well as genes that can modify even dominant alleles.
- The wikipedia article on this is written at a pretty advanced level, but it may help explain what is going on with eye color eye color.
Eye image by Laitr Keiows via Wikimedia Commons
What are the chances my baby will have green eyes?
Predicting Eye Color
| Probability of Eye Color | ||
|---|---|---|
| Blue | Green | 50% |
| Blue | Brown | 0% |
| Green | Green | 75% |
| Green | Brown | 38% |