Your iris may look blue in some spots and brown in others, depending on how melanin is distributed. But the front layer of this important structure - the stroma - can make your eyes appear brown, hazel, blue, or even green.Īnd many people have different amounts of pigment in different parts of their eyes. The more of it you have, the more likely your eyes will be brown.Įveryone, including people with blue eyes, has some brown pigment within the iris. Why Are Eyes So Colorful?Įye color is determined by the amount of melanin in the front layer of your iris. Gene variations and interactions can cause someone to have different colored eyes than their parents or any other family member. Several genes are responsible for the amount of pigment in the eyes, making it possible for two blue-eyed parents to have brown-eyed children. However, today, studies confirm that the eye color inheritance pattern is more complex. Traditionally, people believed that a single gene determined eye color. The melanin content within the iris, and how it’s distributed, gives your eyes their unique color. But you may share the same shade with hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people.Įye color is determined by your iris - a colored ring surrounding your pupil at the center of your eye. No one in the world has eyes the same color as yours. Your eye color is as unique as your fingerprint.

Different human eye colors