Why are people with obviously green eyes frequently referred to as having hazel eyes?

Question

I checked and the definition of hazel is "a reddish brown". I find it insulting when I tell someone my eyes are green and they say "no they are hazel". My eyes are neither reddish or brownish.

Answer 1

I thought it was anyones eyes that had different color rings like green with brown or green with grey.

A green-brown human iris displaying a dark brown center and a green outer area. This type of iris, although rare, is often also called hazel.
A green-brown human iris displaying a dark brown center and a green outer area. This type of iris, although rare, is often also called hazel.

Hazel eyes are due to a combination of a Rayleigh scattering and a moderate amount of melanin in the iris' anterior border layer.[24][5] A number of studies using three-point scales have assigned "hazel" to be the medium-color between brown and dark brown.[25][26][27][28][29][30][31] This can sometimes produce a multicolored iris, i.e., an eye that is brown near the pupil and charcoal or amber on the outer part of the iris when it is open to the elements of the sun/shined in the sunlight. Hazel is mostly found in the regions of South and East European nations and places such as the Northern Arabian and Middle Eastern Peninsula but Rarely in Eastern Asia. [citation needed]

There is some difficulty in defining the eye color "hazel" as it is sometimes considered to be synonymous with brown and other times with green.[32][19][25][27][30][33] They have been described as light brown or yellowish brown,[34] or as a lighter shade of brown.[35] Hazel eyes have also been described as being equivalent to a dark black or charcoal-colored/light black eyes.[36] In North America, "hazel" is often used to describe eyes that change color, ranging from light brown to green and even blue, depending on what color clothing the person is wearing or what color is predominant in their immediate environment. (Eyes that change only between blue and green are not called "hazel"; the term only describes changeable eye color that includes a brownish shade within its range.) Hazel eyes particularly of the light brown variety are predominately found in the Middle East.

Answer 2

OMG I have the same problem and I also wondered why they're called hazel if hazel is a reddish brown. My eyes are green mixed with brown but people say they're green.

Answer 3

Exactly! I don't know where that term originated from because hazel is a shade of varies browns not green. I have reddish brown eyes with little gray bits and they are truly hazel. But some people have a mixture of strong brown/green eyes or eyes that change from dark brown to light brown, so they are referred to as hazel. But you are right, green is green.

Answer 4

I have the same problem, however mine are not too green, but more golden with specks of green in them. I never know the def. of hazel is reddish brown, yuck. I guess I have the reddish part if I have been up too late, but it's not my usual color (plus it's only on the whites fo my eyes). Can we say we have "calico" eyes instead of hazel, will people start to pick up on that?

Answer 5

Actually, I feel that hazel eyes are eyes that are change color, they can look blue, green, brown depending on what you are wearing. that is why people probably say that you have hazel eyes and not green eyes. If your eyes where brownish color then they would be just considered brown.

Answer 6

OMG!! thank you soo much so telling me that! I go to school where I am one out of 5 people with light eyes that EVERYONE always says are hazel even though they are blue-green!! I guess that people maybe are jealous and wish that they had eyes that were green and say hazel to make themselves feel better!

Answer 7

Dont ask me I have hazel eyes and there brown with a bit of green mixed in.

Answer 8

You think that's bad, I used to get really infuriated when some one said my hazel eyes are green.. grrrrrrrr.

Finally I just said to myself

"Self, what difference does it really make?"

As long as they are doing the job they are designed to do, I have no concerns.

You can always just pull out your driver's license to prove it. (I can't cause mine says I have green eyes,GRRRRRR)

Answer 9

i think that hazel is more of a green brown. but my eyes are green, also, and many people mistake them for hazel, i dont know why, maybe they think that "green" eyes are supposed to be hunter green or lime green. i feel your pain.

Answer 10

I have Hazel eyes ,theyre not reddish brown though.they are blueish green.If you have hazel eyes they can be a mix of alot of colors.but if you have green eyes you have green eyes ,and so on.my husband has a mix of gray green and his is hazel