Your baby’s eye color at birth will likely change by their first birthday.
Their basic eye colorblue, brown, green, or hazelshould be evident by about 9 months old.
However, eye color can continue to shift and refine until around age 6.
Barbara Peacock Collection / The Image Bank / Getty Images
A newborn’s eye color is based on genetics.
Genes trigger the production and distribution of pigments.
A precise combination and concentration of pigments make up a person’s eye color.
This article discusses baby eye color, including how and when a newborn’s eyes change color.
What Determines a Baby’s Eye Color?
Baby eye color is determined by a substance called melanin.
Light eyes have very little pigment, whereas darker eyes have a lot.
When Is Eye Color Set?
Even then, sometimes you may find little surprises.
An infant’s eye color is influenced by the eye color of their parents.
Your babys final eye color depends a lot on you and your co-parent.
We used to think that brown was dominant and blue was recessive.
But modern science has shown that eye color is not at all that simple.
Eye color is controlled by three basic genes.
Baby Eye Color Predictor
It’s hard to predict the exact color a babys eyes will have.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, your eyeballs grow as you get older.
Infant eyeballs are around 16.5 mm in length while adult eyeballs are about 24 mm.
The eyeballs see the most noticeable growth in the first two years of a baby’s life.
Around the time of puberty (10 or 11 years old), the eyes undergo a growth spurt.
Your baby’s eye color may match either parent or be a different color altogether.
Eye color is determined by multiple variations of genes that control the production and distribution of pigments.
Each person has two versions (alleles) of a gene, one from each parent.
Eye color genes are either dominant (brown) or recessive (blue).
If the two alleles are different, the dominant gene will be expressed.
Recessive genes are only expressed when both alleles match.
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