To think dark brown eyes aren’t common in white British people

[Runaway3444]

Ds1 has dark brown eyes and due to his skin tone people just assume he’s white British rather than having a Middle Eastern father. My other children have a darker skin tone so people believe them. Aibu to think most people with dark brown eyes are usually from minority ethics background.

My Mum's family all had brown eyes (albeit not necessarily dark brown) and I have a hazel-brown mix. Blue eyes are more common in some areas of the UK including some areas of Scotland and some areas in northern England but brown is still the dominant eye colour in the UK.

I have pale skin, very dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. Ive been told a few times I look Spanish, but my ancestry is in fact Welsh. Interesting a few posters have mentioned iberian links to welsh and Irish ancestry.

I'm astounded by how many other people can spot iris colour. I've tried analysing eye-colour stats in boring meetings, too, but I can't generally make the colour out without obviously squinting, unless the owner is right opposite me. The iris is just so small. So it's been a bit of a non-starter

Wondering if I need an eye-test now.

Didn't the brown eyed gene come from the Roman invasion?

@felineflutter

Didn't the brown eyed gene come from the Roman invasion?

more likely Vikings

2 of my dcs have blonde hair and chocolate button eyes. So does my brother. We are all white British.

@felineflutter

Didn't the brown eyed gene come from the Roman invasion?

It probably came when humanity migrated to Europe and the UK from Africa. Brown eyes are found on a dominant gene

@PottingCompost
It obviously depends on lighting and spacing, but it does sound as if you have some sort of problem.

Most of the women on my mums side have dark brown eyes. I have dark brown eyes and blonde hair. It's not uncommon at all.

@Anna727b
“ Blue eyes are more common in some areas of the UK including some areas of Scotland and some areas in northern England but brown is still the dominant eye colour in the UK.”
No. A quick google brings up a figure of 22% for all shades of brown in the British population. Assuming that includes all ethnicities, my guess of 10 to 20% for the white population based on boring meetings looks reasonable.

@80sMum yes I read this, I have blue eyes and my dh brown eyes
Ds1 has brown eyes ( dark brown) and ds2 has bright blue eyes, so my dh must carry blue gene as well or they gave me the wrong bang

@pictish I googled that as well but not sure how they get these figures or how many they asked as personally I can't remember having to write my eye colour or dc on anything ?
I know more people with brown/ hazel eye than any other colour

@MishMashMummy but how do we know these polls are right? I have never had to put my dc eye colour in anything that I can remember ? Lots of babies are born with blue eyes but these change , so where do they get these stats?
I know more people with brown eyes than blue

DB has brown eyes, no trace of hazel.
I have hazel eyes, as does DH. Dd1 has green eyes, Dd2 has blue eyes.
We are all white British.

What a strange assertion! DP's whole family have pale Celtic skin and varying shades of brown eyes. DP's eyes and those of his dad and brother would be classed as very dark brown. I'm in NI and, although blue is the most common colour (mine!), I have known hundreds of people over the years with dark brown eyes and pale skin. Interestingly, DP and I both have pale skin, but his is a creamy white and mine is a horrible blue white.

Yabu

I have dark brown eyes as do 2 of.my daughters. We are white British through and through

I had light blonde hair and dark brown eyes when I was a kid. Plus I was very tanned That got a few looks but my hair went brown as I got older.

@paloma10

Most people have brown eyes don’t they? It’s the dominant gene.

Most people in the world, yes. Most people in the Uk, no. I don’t suppose any surveys on the subject are particularly accurate or rigorous but there’s a massive difference between 22% and 51%. I’ve lived in a European country where most people have brown eyes. It’s noticeable. The original question is a bit odd. If people are telling the child with fair skin that he doesn’t know who his father is then that’s incredibly rude whatever colour his eyes are.

@Runaway3444

Sorry I didn’t realise how common it was but I definitely think people shouldn’t judge ethnicity solely by a persons skin tone.

Neither should they judge in eye colour, yet here we are

Brown eyes are very common in white people....it's a dominant colour

I had 4 brown eyed grandparents and two blue eyed parents. My mum's siblings include 2 very dark brown eyed brothers, one with hazel eyes and one with one blue eye/one brown eye. Mine are grey. Of my cousins only 2 have brown eyes and all of our kids have blue/green or grey eyes.

One of my children has dark brown eyes. Then two of my other children have hazel eyes and one of my other children is completely random with blue eyes!

[quote worriedatthemoment]@MishMashMummy but how do we know these polls are right? I have never had to put my dc eye colour in anything that I can remember ? Lots of babies are born with blue eyes but these change , so where do they get these stats?
I know more people with brown eyes than blue [/quote]
You would have to look into the methodology of the study to answer your question. It’s likely to be more accurate than your assessment of the people you know, though. Even if you have a very wide circle of acquaintances it’s going to be too small a sample size to draw conclusions about the whole population from. And easily countered by someone else with a different experience (like me - around here, blue eyes are much more common than brown, and I know many more blue eyed people than brown eyed).

This article gives a bit more detail (sorry for the DM link): www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2738224/Is-rise-blue-eyes-attractive-Scientists-believe-colour-dominant-like-peacocks-tail.html

It suggests that it depends to an extent on where you live - in some areas of the U.K., the prevalence of blue eyes is greater than in others. So if you live in an area with a lower prevalence you maybe see more brown eyed people, but across the U.K. blue eyes are the most common colour.

I think there’s an element of perception bias in this - blue eyes tend to be seen as more attractive, and I think that leads people to assume they must therefore be rarer or more unusual. In fact, the opposite is true - that article suggests that they have become the dominant colour because people find them more attractive, and so blue eyed people are more likely to find mates to reproduce with, thus further spreading the blue gene

Err I've got very dark brown eyes, dark brown hair and black eyebrows/lashes.

I'm what most people would call a...brunette.

Though Ii have been mistaken repeatedly for Spanish/Italian/Portuguese when in those countries (I go dark when I tan)

Celtic/Anglo Saxon stock for what it's worth.