This is one of those questions that seems like it should have an easy answer when it really doesn’t. In fact, there is some debate over what the rarest eye color actually is. This is partly because "rare” itself can be a relative term, since one eye color might be very rare in a certain part of the world and extremely common in another.
Though hard scientific evidence is hard to come by, we can say with certainty what some of the less common colors are.
What Is the Rarest Eye Color?
Eye colors from most rare to most common: |
---|
• Green, Amber and Violet/Red (these three are extremely rare) |
• Black (no eyes are true black, just very dark brown) |
• Blue |
• Gray |
• Hazel |
• Brown |
Green Eyes
Though the scientific research is lacking, it is very likely that green is one of the most rare eye colors worldwide. It's commonly quoted that only 2% of the world’s population has green eyes, though it’s difficult to determine where that number came from.
Even if the number is accurate, 2% of the world's 7.3 billion people is 146 million. This is roughly the population of Russia. That's not to say that green eyes aren't special, because they are! It just depends on where you happen to be. In most parts of the world, almost everyone has brown hair and eyes, with green being very rare or absent altogether.
Green eyes are sometimes confused with hazel eyes, which have both brown and green in them. To tell the difference, go into natural lighting (outside during the day), and look at your eyes compared with someone you know to have green, hazel, or brown eyes. The difference should be clear between them.
Where Do Green Eyes Originate From?
Green eyes are most common in Northern and Central Europe though they can also be found in Southern Europe as well as Western Asia. As was mentioned earlier, brown hair and eyes are dominant in most regions, though there are several countries where it is actually more common to have green or blue eyes than brown eyes.
For example, in Ireland and Scotland, 86% of the population has either blue or green eyes, and in Iceland, 89% of women and 87% of men have blue or green eyes. Among European Americans, green eyes are most common in people of recent Celtic or Germanic ancestry. Green eyes also tend to be more common in women.
Even though they're most common in Northern and Central Europe, people of any race can have green eyes.
Celebrities with Green Eyes
- Adele
- Emma Stone
- Amanda Seyfried
- Clive Owen
- Jon Hamm
- Eddie Redmayne
- Kate Middleton
- Gael Garcia Bernal
What Is the Rarest Eye Color?
Eye colors from most rare to most common: |
---|
• Green, Amber and Violet/Red (these three are extremely rare) |
• Black (no eyes are true black, just very dark brown) |
• Blue |
• Gray |
• Hazel |
• Brown |
Green Eyes
Though the scientific research is lacking, it is very likely that green is one of the most rare eye colors worldwide. It's commonly quoted that only 2% of the world’s population has green eyes, though it’s difficult to determine where that number came from.
Even if the number is accurate, 2% of the world's 7.3 billion people is 146 million. This is roughly the population of Russia. That's not to say that green eyes aren't special, because they are! It just depends on where you happen to be. In most parts of the world, almost everyone has brown hair and eyes, with green being very rare or absent altogether.
Green eyes are sometimes confused with hazel eyes, which have both brown and green in them. To tell the difference, go into natural lighting (outside during the day), and look at your eyes compared with someone you know to have green, hazel, or brown eyes. The difference should be clear between them.
Where Do Green Eyes Originate From?
Green eyes are most common in Northern and Central Europe though they can also be found in Southern Europe as well as Western Asia. As was mentioned earlier, brown hair and eyes are dominant in most regions, though there are several countries where it is actually more common to have green or blue eyes than brown eyes.
For example, in Ireland and Scotland, 86% of the population has either blue or green eyes, and in Iceland, 89% of women and 87% of men have blue or green eyes. Among European Americans, green eyes are most common in people of recent Celtic or Germanic ancestry. Green eyes also tend to be more common in women.
Even though they're most common in Northern and Central Europe, people of any race can have green eyes.
Celebrities with Green Eyes
- Adele
- Emma Stone
- Amanda Seyfried
- Clive Owen
- Jon Hamm
- Eddie Redmayne
- Kate Middleton
- Gael Garcia Bernal
Violet and Red Eyes
This might be disappointing for some, but true violet or red-colored eyes do not occur naturally in humans. Some eyes, however, can appear to be violet under certain lighting or makeup conditions.
Elizabeth Taylor is famous for her violet eyes, though in reality she just has very blue eyes that can look violet depending on the lighting. She does, however, have a row of double eyelashes, a rare genetic mutation.
People with albinism, a condition that causes a complete lack of or very low levels of pigment in the skin, hair, and eyes, sometimes appear to have violet or red eyes. This phenomenon is explained below.
Also Very Rare: Amber Eyes
True amber eyes are extremely rare—they are at least as rare as green eyes or perhaps even rarer. Most people have only seen a couple of amber-eyed people in their entire life.
Amber eyes are completely solid and have a strong yellowish, golden, or russet and coppery tint. They can also contain a small amount of gold-ish gray. Some sources say that this could be due to the increased presence of a pigment called lipochrome (also known as pheomelanin).
Amber eyes are often referred to as wolf eyes because of the strong golden and yellowish color with a copper tint similar to that seen in the eyes of wolves. Besides wolves, amber eye color can also be found in other animals, like dogs, domestic cats, owls, eagles, pigeons and fish.
The Difference Between Amber and Other Eye Colors
Amber eyes are different from hazel eyes because they do not contain hints of brown, green, or orange. While hazel eyes might change color or contain flecks of red or gold, amber eyes are always a solid gold hue.
In poor lighting, it's easy to mistake someone with amber eyes for someone with hazel eyes. In natural lighting, however, you’ll see that hazel eyes tend to have two very distinct colors within the iris. They are often brown and green, and contain speckles and mixed hues.
Celebrities with Amber Eyes Include:
- Nicole Richie
- Nikki Reid
- Evangeline Lilly
- Darren Criss
- Rochelle Aytes
- Joey Kern
Black Eyes
Contrary to popular belief, true black eyes do not exist. Some people with a lot of melanin in their eyes might appear to have black eyes depending on the lighting conditions. This is not truly black, however, but simply a very dark brown.
The Science Behind Eye Color
Eye color is more complicated than it might seem, as it's determined by a wide range of factors and can depend to some extent on circumstance, especially lighting.
Eye color is determined by:
- Amount and type of melanin in the colored part of your eye called the iris
- The density and composition of the stroma, a thin tissue in your iris
- Lighting conditions (especially for people with light-colored eyes)
Eye Color and Genetics
Genetics determines how much pigment is present in the iris of your eye. Up to 16 different genes play a role in determining eye color though there are two main genes that have the most influence.
How Melanin Affects Eye Color
Melanin is the most common pigment, and it is found in the eyes, hair, and skin. There are several types of melanin, including pheomelanin (which looks more red and yellow) and eumelanin (which tends to look brown and black).
You might have noticed that there is no blue or green pigment mentioned, which means there is no green or blue pigment ever present in the eye. There is only one kind of pigment, melanin, and its derivatives. So how can a pigment that only produces shades of brown create eyes that look green or blue?
While the first half of eye color has to do with what's already in your eye, the other half has to do with what goes into it: Light!
How Light Affects Eye Color
Your iris has two layers, a front and a back one, and in between those is a thin layer of tissue called the stroma, which has proteins in it (namely collagen). This will become important later.
Everyone has some kind of pigment in their iris, which usually includes a layer of melanin on the back of the iris. The only exception to this is for some people with albinism, who completely lack pigment in their iris.
So, technically speaking, everyone (cases of albinism excepted) has the same eye color. The difference comes with how it's perceived, which is due to the amount and type of melanin in the front layer of the iris and how light interacts with it.
Melanin Content and Eye Color
Eye color | Melanin Presence on Front Layer of Iris | Melanin Presence on Back Layer of Iris | Dominant Pigment Type |
---|---|---|---|
Brown | Heavy | Normal | Eumelanin |
Blue | Light | Normal | Eumelanin |
Gray | Even less than blue | Normal | Eumelanin |
Green | More than blue eyes, less than brown | Normal | Pheomelanin |
Hazel | More than green, less than brown | Normal | Pheomelanin and Eumelanin |
Amber | Heavy | Normal | Pheomelanin |
Red or Violet | None or extremely little | None or extremely little | n/a |
Biology Behind the Color: Eye by Eye
Blue Eyes
Blue-eyed people have no or little melanin on the front layer of the iris, so as light goes through the eye, it hits the back of the iris and then reflects out. As it goes through the stroma, the presence of proteins causes blue light to scatter, which makes the eye look blue.
This phenomenon (the scattering of light by particles much smaller than the wavelength of radiation) is called Rayleigh scattering, and it's the same reason the sky appears to be blue.
Gray Eyes
Unfortunately, we don’t really know why people have gray eyes. There are, however, some theories on where gray eyes come from:
- Gray-eyed people could have an even smaller amount of melanin in their eyes than blue-eyed people.
- They could have a different composition of the stroma that causes the light to scatter differently.