Every Blue-Eyed Person on the Planet Descends From One Single Person

It sounds like a myth, but science suggests there is real truth behind it: most people with blue eyes share a single ancient genetic ancestor. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen traced the most common form of blue eyes to a mutation that likely appeared between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. Before that mutation, humans are believed to have had brown eyes in different shades.

The important detail is that scientists are not saying they know the name, face, or exact life story of the first blue-eyed person. The discovery is about a shared genetic switch linked to the HERC2 region, which affects the nearby OCA2 gene involved in producing brown pigment in the iris. That tiny change reduced melanin in the eye, creating the blue-eye effect that later spread through generations.