Eye Color Chart: What Color Eyes Will My Baby Have?

Ever wonder what your baby is going to look like? Though tools like face swaps are just for fun, this eye color chart can provide some clues.

Eye Color Chart- What Color Eyes Will My Baby Have post by Mama Natural

Have you ever tried one of those online generators to determine what your baby will look like before he/she is born? The results can be pretty hilarious when you see your nose combined with your partner’s 5 o’clock shadow. Unfortunately, these tools are just for fun—they can’t show you what baby’s smile will look like. But certain tools, like an eye color chart, can provide some clues.

Eye Color Chart: What Color Eyes Will My Baby Have?

There’s nothing like daydreaming about what your unborn baby will look like before he or she enters the world. Unfortunately, there is no way to know for sure what color eyes your little one will have. Even an eye color chart can’t tell you with 100 percent certainty.

Ultimately, the color of a baby’s eyes depends on two things: the parent’s genes and the way they mutate the moment baby is conceived.

Though recent research suggests that genetics play a much more complicated role in baby’s eye color  is much more to baby’s eye color than  more than just the parents’ eye color that affects baby’s eye color, the general rules are as follows:

  • Two blue-eyed parents are very likely to have a blue-eyed child.
  • Two brown-eyed parents are more likely to have a child with brown eyes.
  • If one of the grandparents has blue eyes, the chances of having a blue-eyed baby increase slightly.
  • If one parent has brown eyes and the other has blue eyes, eye color is more of a toss up.

Love the guessing game? This eye color chart can be a fun way to determine what color eyes your baby is most likely to have.

Baby Eye Color Chart

Eye Color Chart- What Color Eyes Will My Baby Have post by Mama Natural post

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What Determines Eye Color?

Though eye color is an inherited trait, it is a bit more complex than looking at an eye color chart. Mom’s eyes + Dad’s eyes = Baby’s eyes. According to the latest research, 11 genes contribute to the color of those adorable peepers.

The genes associated with eye color are involved in the production and storage of melanin, which is the amount of pigment occurring in the hair, skin, and iris of the eye.

Brown-eyed people have a large amount of melanin in their iris, while people with blue eyes have a small amount. Several variations in the genes can either reduce or increase the melanin. And when these genes interact with each other, crazy things can happen. For example, it isn’t unheard of for two brown-eyed parents to have a blue- or a green-eyed child, or two blue-eyed parents to have a brown-eyed child.

The inheritance of eye color is more complex than originally suspected because multiple genes are involved. While a child’s eye color can often be predicted by the eye colors of his or her parents and other relatives, genetic variations sometimes produce unexpected results. (source)

But just like your baby, eye color research still has a lot of growing up to do—there are several thousand genes involved in iris development currently under investigation.

baby eye color, four babies featuring different eye colors

Are All Babies Born With Blue Eyes?

In the U.S., only 1 in 5 Caucasian adults have blue eyes, but most are born blue-eyed. (source)

Ever heard the term baby blues? That phrase makes a little more sense when you know that most Caucasian babies are born with blue (or gray) eyes.

Why? Special cells called melanocytes secrete melanin in our hair, skin, and eyes. And because melanocytes respond to light, the amount of melanin in the body increases as we are exposed to more light. When melanin increases, skin, hair, and eyes get darker. After spending more than nine months in a dark womb, baby has very low levels of melanin, and therefore, has very light skin and eyes. (source)

African American, Latin, and Asian babies can have blue eyes at birth, but it’s much less likely. If anything, they will have gray eyes, very dark blue eyes, or brown eyes.

“Darkly-pigmented individuals usually have brown-eyed babies, because the babies have more pigment to start out with.” — Norman Saffra, Chairman of Ophthalmology at Maimonedes Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Why Do Some Babies Have Two Different Colored Eyes?

There are exceptional cases where a baby is born with two different colored eyes, or one eye is half brown and half blue. Ever looked closely at Kate Bosworth or Mila Kunis’ eyes? Stunning, right? As exotic and beautiful as this trait is, contact your doctor if this is the case with your baby. This is called heterochromia, which can be a totally normal phenomenon caused by genetic changes, but sometimes, it can indicate a problem with eye development, or can be a result of a disease or injury to the eye. (source)

Anatomy of the Human Eye

Anatomy of the Human Eye, reference for baby eye color chart

Does Baby’s Eye Color Affect Their Personality?

As surprising as it may be, psychologists have connected colors and patterns in the eye to personality traits. Researchers at Orebro University in Sweden found that patterns in the threads that radiate from the pupil (known as a crypt) and contraction furrows (lines curving the outer edge) can predict a person’s character.

Those with densely packed crypts tend to be more warm-hearted, tender, trusting, and likely to sympathize with others. Those with more contraction furrows were more neurotic, impulsive, and likely to give in to cravings.

How to Predict Eye Color

(image source)

How can this possibly be, you may ask? The genes responsible for the development of the iris also help shape the frontal lobe of the brain, which influences personality.

Since it may be a little hard for you to determine how densely packed your child’s crypt is, there are a few more correlations found in science that may help you predict personality. A study in Current Psychology showed that people with darker eyes are more agreeable. And another study found that people with very dark eyes tend to be better at sports that involve hitting targets. Why? Melanin acts as an insulator for connections between brain cells. The more you have, the quicker the brain may work.

Where does that leave blue-eyed babes? Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found that women with lighter-colored eyes seem to tolerate pain better during childbirth and handle the stress better than the dark-eyed mamas.

Genevieve Howland

About the Author

Genevieve Howland is a doula and childbirth educator. She is the bestselling author of The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth and creator of the Mama Natural Birth Course. A mother of three, graduate of the University of Colorado, and YouTuber with over 135,000,000 views, she helps mothers and moms-to-be lead healthier and more natural lives.

30 Comments

  1. I found the post to be exceptionally informative, and I greatly appreciate the shared insights.

  2. What about hazel eyes? I have dark brown eyes and my husband has very light blue eyes. 2 of our children have dark brown eyes, 3 more have greenish hazel eyes I’d say more green than anything though, and 1 has honey colored eyes. My dads side of the family all have dark brown eyes. On my moms side my grandma had dark brown eyes and grandpa had blue eyes, my mom has hazel eyes and dad dark brown almost black eyes (my dad is half Native American). On my husbands side they all have blue eyes on both sides. It’s interesting to see that brown and blue can’t make green but yet 3 of my children have greenish eyes.

  3. Somebody needs to re-educate this woman. First off “Latin” is NOT a race. Second, “Latin” people can be any color, white, yellow, brown, black, etc. Saying Latin people are people of color is dumb.and uninformed. Take Brazil Cuba and Argentina, which account for 35% of “Latins”. They are much more likely to have bright eyes than American “Whites”.

    • U are right

  4. It would be nice if this chart was updated with current information. Even though it’s only for fun – it doesn’t even contain all natural eye colors! Missing are hazel and gray. I have green eyes and the father has blue – but we have one child with blue eyes, one with gray eyes, and another TBD.

    • I totally agree! I have green eyes husband has blue & we have 3 blue eyed children and one brown eyed child. The chart is very misleading and harmful. My parents are 1 blue and 1 brown so my green eyes are also impossible according to the chart. As some people rarely read past the chart it should be either revised or removed.

      • Harmful?? 😆 it’s a base chart from your local high school biology classroom.

  5. Chart is not really accurate. My mother has brown eye and my father blue. We are four siblings, two have brown eyes and two have green. According to the chart the chances of green eyes was zero….

    • The real proportions would be 50% brown, 25% green and 25% blue for the brown eyed parent recessive genes could be green or blue.

  6. I have brown eyes and dark hair, my ex has green eyes dirty blonde hair. We have a brown eyed boy(12) and a gray eyed boy(10) both with dirty blonde hair. I just had a baby with my husband(brown eyes, dirty blonde hair) she is almost 6 months and her eyes are a gray green and her hair is blonder than blonde. Nothing is set until their body’s develop. I’m just upset that none of my kids look like me lol

  7. Both of my parents have brown eyes, my sister and brother have dark brown eyes, dark hair and darker skin color, I have blue eyes, blonde hair and very fair skin. Both Grandmothers are same as parents and siblings and both grandfathers have blue eyes, blonde hair and fair skin, so my assumption has been that I inherited Grandfather’s traits and none of grandmother’s.

  8. My mam has hazel eyes and my dad has blue eyes. All my sisters have blue eyes and so does my brother but im the only one with green eyes ? Could that be from my granny

    • I was wondering the same thing.

    • So any more no un fold out (background,explainations,inherit genes

    • This is coming from your mother’s ancestors.

  9. My daughter has brown eyes. Her mother has brown eyes and her father has blue eyes my daughter’s husband has light brown eyes and his mother has green eyes and his father has dark brown eyes what color eyes could be passed down if my daughter and her husband have babies?

  10. My son had blue eyes, I have brown my now ex wife has green he’s not my child!!

    • He can still be your child. Get a DNA test done to put your mind more at ease.

  11. My son has blue kind of greenish with a brown mark in one eye and a dark ring.
    I have green eyes with a dark ring anf brown around the middles looks hazel but not. My Husband has blue looks like water mixed with paint. My newborn daughter so far has blueish gray, hoping for green like mine, both our parents dads blue eyes mom green.

  12. My parents are mom brown and dad blue. I’m brown.
    His parents: he was brown and she’s blue.
    He’s blue chameleon (changes with shirt color and time of year).
    Our soon to be 2 year old (next weekend) has the prettiest blue eyes I’ve ever seen! Has his grandpa’s (my dad) Sandy blond hair (kinda dirty blond).

    Kinda interesting how it turned out. Hes also favoring my lefty. Which runs on my mom’s side.

  13. Both my children one girl one boy have green eyes I have blue eyes and my husband (and their father) has brown/Amber eyes. 0% I don’t think so. ?

  14. The chart is wrong. It is based off old, outdated information and the assumption that eye pigmentation is much simpler than it actually is. For a long time, we assumed that the genes that control eye color worked the same way as that of the genes of a pea plant. That is simply not true. Eye color isn’t determined by alleles. Like the article explained, it’s determined by the amount of melanin in one’s eye and how light reflects off it.

    Though it’s not likely for two blue eyed people or two green eyed people to have brown eyes, it’s not at all impossible. Human genetics are complicated. It’s not a matter of just the parents’ eye colors. It’s a matter of their genetic makeup and the possibilities it carries.

    • Right because my ex mil had green eyes and her dad had brown eyes and her mom had blue eyes.

    • So if one parent carry both dominant allel for brown eye and the other parent carry both recessive allel for green/ blue eyes, do they get a chance to have green eye child?

    • This chart is completely inaccurate. My husband and I both have blue eyes. We have 2 boys one with brown eyes and one with hazel.

  15. There’s definitely more to genetics than this chart. I have 4 boys, my husband has blue eyes, I have brown eyes, and we have 2 with blue, 1 with brown, and 1 with hazel/green.

  16. My youngest (4 months) was born with gray eyes. Now they are green/hazel but still have a gray ring around the outside.

    My eyes are dark brown, my husband’s are semi-light brown.
    My father’s are a light hazel green so I’m positive that part of my genes contributed. Our oldest (6 years old) was born with grays but they quickly turned brown. He has dark brown eyes like me.

  17. Interesting. We both have green eyes and our first has brown eyes. Our 3 week old has eyes that appear blue but look green from the side. Also my oldest says she has green eyes and since I believe everything my kids say I think my baby will have green eyes. Then I’ll have a blue eyed girl, a brown eyed girl and a green eyed girl. Wouldn’t that be awesome?

    • So addorable! My husband has very.dark big brown eyes and.awsome eye lashes looks like hes wearing.mascara. i have light brown/hazel eyes. My first daughter has big dark brown eyes. My second daughter has blue blue eyes. My 3rd daughter has blue/green eyes. And my son has.the really blue blue.eyes too. Weird genes are and all have dads eye lashes!!

    • My older sister has hazel eyes (mostly look green unless you look up close and see there are a lot of colours in there)
      I have pale gray eyes.
      My younger sister has blue eyes.

      To my disappointment, my three kids have my husband’s blue eyes. They had so many OPTIONS available to them. Why all pick that shade of blue? lol


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