What eye color will the baby have if one parent has green or hazel eyes and the other blue?
If one parent has green or hazel eyes and the other blue, 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 blue-eyed parent can only pass on blue, so the baby's color depends on what the green-eyed parent passes on. Green masks blue, so green is more likely, but if the green-eyed parent carries a hidden blue copy, a blue-eyed baby has a real chance. In real families, brown is uncommon here but not ruled out.
What the grandparents change
If the green-eyed parent has a blue-eyed mother or father, they must carry a hidden blue copy, and the model's chance of a blue-eyed baby rises from about 33% to 50%.
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 green or hazel eyes and the other blue?
In the simple model, roughly <1% brown, 67% green or hazel and 33% blue. Real families vary, because eye color depends on many genes.
Can a green-eyed and a blue-eyed parent have a blue-eyed baby?
Yes. If the green-eyed parent carries a hidden blue copy, the baby can have blue eyes. The simple model gives about 33%.
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.