What eye color will the baby have if one parent has brown eyes and the other green or hazel?
If one parent has brown eyes and the other green or hazel, the simple two-gene model behind our calculator gives the baby the rough chances below. It is a teaching model, not a prediction: real eye color depends on many genes.
Rough chance for the baby
A simple teaching model, not a prediction. Real eye color depends on many genes.
Why these chances
The brown-eyed parent decides most of the result: if they pass on a brown copy, the baby's eyes are brown. If they carry a hidden lighter copy and pass it on, the green-eyed parent's genes take over. That's why green is the next most likely color, and blue is possible but less common.
What the grandparents change
If the brown-eyed parent has a blue-eyed mother or father, they must carry a hidden lighter copy, and the model's chance of a blue-eyed baby rises from about 6% to 13%.
Add grandparents in the calculator
What the model leaves out
The model uses only two genes and treats every version of a gene as equally common. In reality eye color depends on many genes, how common each version is differs from country to country, and hazel, grey and mixed colors don't fit neatly into three groups. Use the numbers to see how a hidden color can pass down, not to predict your baby.
Other parent combinations
- Brown × Brown
- Brown × Green or hazel
- Brown × Blue or grey
- Green or hazel × Green or hazel
- Green or hazel × Blue or grey
- Blue or grey × Blue or grey
Frequently asked questions
What eye color will the baby have if one parent has brown eyes and the other green or hazel?
In the simple model, roughly 67% brown, 28% green or hazel and 6% blue. Real families vary, because eye color depends on many genes.
Can a brown-eyed and a green-eyed parent have a blue-eyed baby?
Yes, if both carry a hidden blue copy and pass it on. The simple model gives about 6%.
When will we know the baby's eye color?
Usually within the first year or two. Many babies are born with lighter eyes that darken as melanin builds up in the iris, and most children have their lasting eye color by about age six.