Where Do Green Eyes Come From?
Pieter Maas
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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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Where do green eye originate from?
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- April 18, 2017 Spring is here, and the color green is popping up more and more everywhere you look.
- But you probably won’t be seeing too many green eyes.
- They’re actually very rare, and we thought we’d take a little time to give you all the info on why your friend with green eyes is pretty special.
- Out of brown, blue, and green, green eyes are the rarest in the world.
Only about 2% of the world’s population has green eyes. You might be surprised to learn that people with green eyes don’t actually have any green pigment in them. That’s because eye color is determined by the concentration of melanin and lipochrome in the iris.
- Melanin is a brown pigment, and lipochrome is a somewhat yellowish pigment.
- So for instance, people with brown eyes have a higher melanin concentration that makes their iris appear brown or almost black in some cases.
- Blue eyes, in contrast, have very little melanin and lipochrome.
- The blue color is caused by the scattering of light in the iris, also known as Rayleigh scattering.
This scattering only occurs when there is very little melanin in the eye, and it’s the same effect that causes us to see the sky as blue. People with green eyes have slightly more melanin and lipochrome in their eyes. Combined with the blue hue from the Rayleigh scattering and the yellowish tint from the lipochrome pigment, a green colored iris is produced.
- Like we said before, only about 2% of the world’s population, or about 140 million people, have green eyes.
- And although they are sometimes confused with hazel eyes, the two are not the same.
- So where did our green-eyed ancestors come from? Most origins point to areas around the Caucasus Mountains, which link Asia and Europe.
That may help explain why so many different countries and continents have had green-eyed populations for thousands of years. There are passes in the Caucasus Mountains that were historically important trade and military routes. This constant movement could easily have helped spread the genes for green eyes to new territory over thousands of years.
So it turns out your friend with green eyes is pretty special after all. Although be sure to let them know that they don’t really have green eyes—just a combination of different pigments and light scattering. And because of that, changes in the light scattering can change the appearance of the iris, That’s why people with green eyes sometimes appear to have different shades of green irises.
Mood, weather, lighting, and even the colors they wear can have an effect on the appearance of their eyes. Whatever your eye color—green or blue, brown or hazel—you still need to have great vision to get the most out of your eyes. If you’ve been wearing contacts or glasses for years, then maybe it’s time to find out more about LASIK and getting the perfect vision you’ve always wanted.
Why are green eyes so rare?
Green eyes – If you have green eyes, you’re in luck. In addition to being the rarest eye color among Americans, green eyes are the most attractive, according to 66,000 people who voted in our survey, Just how rare are green eyes? Fewer than one out of every 10 Americans (9%) has them.
But why are green eyes so rare? Surrounding each pupil, the colored portion of our eyes is called the iris, A pigment called melanin is responsible for that color — the same pigment that determines the color of our skin. And just like our skin, less melanin means lighter colors, while more melanin equals darker colors.
Every eye color — yes, even green — is actually some shade of brown, thanks to the melanin inside the iris. Light bounces off this melanin in different ways and creates a sort of optical illusion, allowing us to see vibrant greens and blues. Iris color is determined by our parents’ eye colors mixed with a little genetic lottery.
- Green irises have an uncommon melanin level — less than “truly” brown eyes, but more than blue eyes.
- This is why green eyes are so unique.
- And while 9% is indeed rare, green eyes have an even lower eye color percentage across the globe.
- Only 2% of the world’s population has green eyes, according to the demography resource World Atlas.
SEE RELATED: How eye color develops and why it changes
Do you have light-colored eyes? |
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Green eyes are the rarest, globally speaking. But they’re not necessarily the rarest in all parts of the world. Wherever you reside, lighter eyes (like green) are more sensitive to the sun. Those with light-colored eyes are also more likely to experience vision problems. So get those gorgeous green eyes in to see a local eye doctor today. And be sure to keep up with routine eye exams. |
Where do green eyes come from genetics?
Eye color inheritance pattern – Due to the number of genes involved in eye color, the inheritance pattern is complex. Although a child’s eye color can generally be predicted by looking at the color of the parents’ eyes, the polymorphisms that can arise mean a child may well have an unexpected eye color.
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). The different variants of genes are referred to as alleles.
The gey gene has one allele that gives rise to green eyes and one allele that gives rise to blue eyes. The bey2 gene has one allele for brown eyes and one for blue eyes. 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.
This means parents who happen to have the same eye color can still produce a different eye color in their child. For example, if two parents with brown eyes each passed on a pair of blue alleles to their offspring, then the child would be born with blue eyes. However, if one of the parents passed on a green allele, then the child would have green eyes and if a brown allele was present, then the child would have brown eyes irrespective of what the other three alleles were.
Chromosome 15 – Eye colour However, this does not explain why two parents with blue eyes can have a child with brown eyes. It also does not explain how grey or hazel eyes arise. This is where modifier genes, other genes associated with eye color and mutations all come into picture, as they can all lead to variability in eye color.
What are green eyes caused by?
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.
Are green eyes from Europe?
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.
- 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.

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.
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.
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.
Do green eyes come from Italy?
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, In Scotland, 29% of people have green eyes. Around 8–10% of men and 18–21% of women in Iceland and 6% of men and 17% of women in the Netherlands, have green eyes. Among European Americans, green eyes are most common among those of recent Celtic and Germanic ancestry with about 16%.
Is green eyes a strong gene?
How does it work? – Babies inherit equal eye color genetics from both parents — 50% from each. From here, genes mutate to produce what are called alleles. Alleles are alternative forms of a gene that, in this case, are responsible for giving your baby a certain eye color.
The allele genes come in the form of brown, blue, or green, with brown being dominant, followed by green, and blue being the least dominant or what is called recessive. Given this information, you can determine what eye colors are dominant in the parents. There are many combinations involving dominant and recessive alleles, but you can build a chart to help you understand the possible combinations your child could have.
For example, if both parents have the dominant brown allele, it is likely your child will have brown eyes and the same if one parent has a dominant brown allele and the other a recessive blue allele. Brown and green alleles will always out-rule blue alleles, with brown being the most dominant.
Why is green eyes most attractive?
Which Eye Color Is Considered the Most Attractive? – As green is the rarest eye color, it is not surprising that it is ranked as the most attractive eye color in many surveys and polls. In a 2022 survey of 66,000 people, 20.3 percent ranked green as the most attractive eye color.
Is it healthy to have green eyes?
People with green eyes are more likely to have certain health issues. Green eyes are more prone to melanoma of the uvea, a type of eye cancer, than are dark eyes. The same is true for macular degeneration.
Do green eyes really change color?
Increased Sun Exposure – As previously mentioned, exposure to light causes your body to produce more melanin. Even if your eye color has set, your eye color could slightly change if you expose your eyes to more sunlight. As a result, your eyes might appear a darker shade of brown, blue, green, or gray, depending on your current eye color.
Are green eyes common in the Netherlands?
Rare Green Eyes – Lots of genetic traits are rare. For example, left-handedness occurs in just 10% of the world’s population, only 11% have naturally curly hair, and a mere 4% have blonde hair. But of all of the seven billion-plus people on planet Earth, only 2% can claim to have one unique trait.
- So, what is this trait so few of us have? Green eyes.
- Yes, only 2 percent of the population of the entire world have them.
- How does that compare to other colors? Brown eyes are most common, as many of you would guess, with 79% of people born with them.
- Blue is found in 8% of people, 5% of us are hazel-eyed, and 5% have eyes of amber.
Essentially, green eyes are unique. Most common in Western, Northern, and Central Europe, green eyes often point to German or Celtic ancestry. Currently, they can be found most often in Iceland, the Netherlands, Scotland, Britain, and Scandinavia. In Britain, brown eyes are, interestingly, even more rare than green eyes, with 22 percent of residents being brown-eyed.
By comparison, nearly one-third of residents have green eyes. Interestingly, green eyes may not appear in children until age three, as pigmentation takes time to form and then to appear. If eyes are, as they say, “windows of the soul,” then green-eyed have the rarest souls around. As a color, green is often associated with negative emotions like jealousy (Shakespeare’s Othello has a quote that calls envy “the green-ey’d monster”).
Still, plenty of people think green is one of the most alluring eye colors. Green eyes can be emerald- or lime-hued, creating a look that is both mysterious and attractive.
What part of Europe has green eyes?
Did you know? –
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. This means that no matter what colour eyes your parents have, yours can be pretty much any colour. All races, including Caucasian, African, Asian, Pacific Islanders, Arabic, Hispanic and the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas can have green eyes.
What is the most common eye color in the Netherlands?
The Colour of your Eyes What determines your eye colour ??There are a lot of different eye colours in humans but some are rarer 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 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 in the US is 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 blue eyes !.Africa is very brownThe 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 an 80% chance 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 have almost disappeared.
Light eyes in Scandinavia Green eyes are rare
Scandinavians tend to have a very light appearance. 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.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. 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).
- Light green eyes are most common in Iceland, The Netherlands, Scotland, Ireland, Estonia and Scandinavia.
Dark green eyes can be found all over Europe, the US and even in Pakistan. Light green eyesGreen eyes and red hair Scientists suspect there is a relation between red hair and green eyes. It looks like there is a high correlation between those two human traits.
- Having red hair colour is also very unique (and recessive).
- Only 1 – 2 % of the entire human population have natural red hair.
- Of course, not only red hair coexists with green eyes-also blondes and darker hair colours can have green eyes (or the other way around).
- Green eyes and genderNormally, you would expect a 50/50 gender variation between the eye colours (blue, brown), but scientists have 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 exists. The findings could be biased somehow. 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 tint.
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. 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 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. 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. : The Colour of your Eyes
Does Germany have green eyes?
Approximately 35% of Germans have blue eyes, and this eye color becomes more common as one moves northwards and the opposite happens as one moves southwards. Nevertheless, another 30% have green or gray eyes. So altogether 65% of German have light eyes!
When did green eyes first appear?
Q: I know green eyes are the rarest eye color. I am all-Sicilian and I, as well as my dad’s mom, have them. What countries have the most green-eyed people? My cousin did some research and found Sicilians are made up of many nationalities: Norman, French, Spanish, Greek, Arabic and North African.
Green-eyed monster, O’Fallon. A: With the Jimmy Dorsey classic now the latest earworm in my head (thank you very much), I’ll try to narrow the many possibilities. According to most experts I’ve found, green eyes — which only an estimated 2 percent of people possess — are thought to be most common in Europe, particularly those of Celtic (think of those red-haired, green-eyed Irish lasses) and German ancestry.
In Britain, for example, a 2014 study found that green was more prevalent than brown — 30 percent to 22 percent — although most were blue, 48 percent. (An estimated 55 percent of all people have brown eyes.) Green is also common in Iceland, The Netherlands, Scotland, Estonia and Scandinavia But with humans always on the move, you can find them most anywhere.
- For example, they are supposedly rare in Asia and Africa.
- Yet there is at least one village in Western China where many have blond hair and green eyes.
- DNA testing found the peope were of Caucasian descent, the theory being that a Roman army settled there long ago and bred.
- Proof of green eyes apparently has been found in Siberia during the Bronze Age, some 4,000 years ago.
So my best conjecture for you is a heavy northern European influence, but you might want to have one of those ancestry DNA tests to make sure. I’d get into the fascinating science behind eye color, but that is a column and a half in itself, so may I suggest www.sciencealert.com/this-is-how-blue-eyes-get-their-colour,
Did Vikings have green eyes?
The Healthy Journal – Gluten, Dairy, Sugar Free Recipes, Interviews and Health Articles The Vikings had various eye colors, although the predominant eye color was blue or gray, However, Irish Vikings had predominantly brown or hazel eyes, and some Viking settlements were much more diverse than others. |