Where Do Green Eyes Originate?
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. 
Where did green eyes first appear?
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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.
Do the French have green eyes?
Lighter eyes across Northern Europe – How much lighter are the eyes of Northern Europeans compared to everybody else’s? Quite a bit. Keep that 70-79% global estimate for brown eyes in mind when you look at the numbers below from a study in the journal “Forensic Science International: Genetics.”
| Nation | Blue | Intermediate | Brown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 64.8% | 20.5% | 14.5% |
| Great Britain | 42.8% | 25.5% | 31.8% |
| France | 22.0% | 44.0% | 34.0% |
| Germany | 39.6% | 33.2% | 27.2% |
| Iceland | 74.5% | 14.2% | 9.2% |
| Netherlands | 60.9% | 11.4% | 21.7% |
| Poland | 52.5% | 12.5% | 35.1% |
A few points pop out:
Iceland, the northernmost country of the bunch, has the greatest percentage of people with blue eyes. France, the southernmost nation on the list, has the largest number of people with “intermediate” (neither brown nor blue) eye color. Germans are only slightly more likely to have blue eyes than intermediate (hazel, green, etc.) or brown eyes.
Blue eyes have been common across Europe since prehistoric times. Indeed, one study found evidence of blue-eyed hunters and gatherers roaming Spain 7,000 years ago.
What is the prettiest eye shape?
Eye Shape #1 – Almond Eyes – 
Almond eyes are considered the most ideal eye shape because you can pretty much pull off any eyeshadow look. And believe me, this is a huge plus! Almond eyes have an oval shape with a slightly upturned outer corner. In addition to being able to pull off stunning eyeshadow looks, almond eyes lend themselves perfectly to just about any lash style (lucky you)! Yep, just about every lash style will be flattering on almond eyes.
Where did hazel eyes originate from?
What ethnicity has hazel eyes? Anyone can be born with hazel eyes, but it’s most common in people of Brazilian, Middle Eastern, North African, or Spanish descent.
Where did blonde hair and green eyes originate?
Gluten, Dairy, Sugar Free Recipes, Interviews and Health Articles 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. |