# Why do so many british people do have dark hair and eyes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 30, 2015, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368 "2015-08-30T02:41:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/41 "2015-09-03T07:24:28Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > So, what definition would you have for being blond, other than looking it? Is there an indoor picture of this group, or one without the strong backlight? They could be blond, or they could range from medium brown to really blond. Hard for me to tell from the pictures. Unless they were organized by hair color, it’s hard not to notice their hair get progressively lighter going back. The ones in the front line (shielded somehow from the harsh light) have seemingly darker hair color. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/42 "2015-09-03T07:30:55Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > This seems to be the case with Brits also and many other Western Europeans. > > By the way I have to add since I had forgotten, true jet black hair is rare among Europeans, even Southern Europeans with dark hair, really have dark brown. > > Even many people outside Europe with dark hair in reality have dark brown hair, with brown highlights as opposed to true black hair which looks blue/purple in the sun. > > And again very dark hair is not the most common hair color among the average British. I had people tell me they found it odd my mom was from Germany and had jet black hair, so do I and dark brown eyes they go I thought all Germans were blonde with blue eyes. I say what about Hitler for example as a famous German 😛 From what I have seen most Germans even have brown or black hair and brown eyes. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/43 "2015-09-03T08:43:18Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Is there an indoor picture of this group, or one without the strong backlight? > > They could be blond, or they could range from medium brown to really blond. Hard for me to tell from the pictures. Unless they were organized by hair color, it’s hard not to notice their hair get progressively lighter going back. The ones in the front line (shielded somehow from the harsh light) have seemingly darker hair color. I think my point stands. If they look blond in bright light, how are they not blond? Those photos aren’t actually strongly backlit, they’re merely taken in sunlight. The folks in the front row are in shadow, which can make hair that is blond in bright light appear darker. I think if anything, the folks in the front rows are more blond than they appear. If you were to move indoors, you’d have to make adjustments for the artificial lights’ effect on color, and you’d have to work hard to match the brightness of the sun. I don’t think that’d prove anything additional about their hair color. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/44 "2015-09-03T08:57:53Z")
Huh I had to google wog because I didn’t know what it meant and just thought the OPs username was some nonsense term like Kwarglelander or something. > [@](#): > > Wog is a slang word in the idiom of Australian English and British English, usually employed as an ethnic or racial slur and considered derogatory and offensive. > > In British English, wog is an offensive racial slur usually applied to Middle Eastern and South Asian peoples. In Australian English, wog is a term used in jest or as a racial slur for people from Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean region of the Middle East. ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/45 "2015-09-03T09:06:57Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Britain is an absolute mongrel nation, that’s all you need to know. Thousands of years of invasions, romans, vikings, french etc. and doing our best to steal and shag our way across the globe. We all need a hobby. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/46 "2015-09-03T10:45:48Z")
Not true. Got beaten to South America. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/47 "2015-09-03T10:49:19Z")
Fwiw the most unlikely place I saw blondes was among the Druze around the Lebanon/Israeli border. Little kids. Presumed a Crusader influence. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/48 "2015-09-03T11:32:33Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > Fwiw the most unlikely place I saw blondes was among the Druze around the Lebanon/Israeli border. Little kids. Presumed a Crusader influence. Much more likely Vandal than Crusader. And more likely indigenous than either. ---
**Author:** ![RebrandingHumor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/22d042/32.png) [@RebrandingHumor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RebrandingHumor)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/49 "2015-09-04T01:48:17Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Well, Sweden and Denmark are closer to the blondism epicentre than the British Isles so I would imagine that the instances of blond hair there would be higher. > > If you’re going on football team photos then compare the [West Germany 1974 football team](http://www.worldcupbrazil.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/19741.jpg) with the [1970 England team](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/11/12/article-1227360-0731EB3D000005DC-112_634x429.jpg). Its not about proximity, I guess history plays a mayor role, most welsh have brown or black hair with hazel, blue, brown or green eyes (not really a dominant eye color). Dutch people for instance dont live that far from that area and they are definitely majority blond people with blue eyes. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/50 "2015-09-04T12:52:15Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Having spent more time in Scandinavia than I care to admit, I don’t think that adult blondes are even a significant minority there either. Of course compared to most of the world, they are a very common. > > Bottle blondes in Scandinavia don’t stand out as much because they tend to have a lighter coloring that matches the look. This. The majority of adult blondes seem to have got it from a bottle. Swedish children are very often blonde and the hair darkens as they age. In my Stockholm office right now I can see about twenty to thirty people, about 70-30 male-female split. Three are blonde. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/51 "2015-09-04T13:10:38Z")
Pssst! There are even black Britons! Naomi Campbell and Idris Elba spring to mind as two particularly gorgeous and talented ones. (And dammit, Naomi Campbell is married to the blond and still-lovely David Bowie, and I still like the woman!) ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/52 "2015-09-04T13:22:56Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Pssst! There are even black Britons! Naomi Campbell and Idris Elba spring to mind as two particularly gorgeous and talented ones. (And dammit, Naomi Campbell is married to the blond and still-lovely David Bowie, and I still like the woman!) Wrong supermodel; he’s married to Iman Abdulmajid. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/53 "2015-09-04T13:55:35Z")
Huh. I always thought Orlando Bloom was an Aussie. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/54 "2015-09-05T06:25:39Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > This. > > The majority of adult blondes seem to have got it from a bottle. Swedish children are very often blonde and the hair darkens as they age. In my Stockholm office right now I can see about twenty to thirty people, about 70-30 male-female split. Three are blonde. I frankly have no idea why the OP is so invested in this. And he is wrong. And he hasn’t answered the question about his username. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/55 "2015-09-05T06:30:59Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > So, what definition would you have for being blond, other than looking it? One that does not require one to be photographed under bright sunlight to look blonde. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/56 "2015-09-05T07:59:30Z")
There’s only one answer to the OP’s question and it’s that Britain has quite a diverse genetic/geographic heritage. There’s no point looking for a British ‘type’ or ‘category’ - there isn’t one. Also just to note, it’s not uncommon for people’s hair colour to change dramatically throughout their lifetime. As a child, I had hair so pale blond it was almost white. In my teenage years, this turned to mousy-brown. Now, in my late 40s, my hair (what’s remains of it, and hasn’t turned grey) is black. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/57 "2015-09-05T14:35:18Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Here’s a [map](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Light_hair_coloration_map.png) of light hair distribution in Europe from wiki’s [blond](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blond#Geographic_distribution) page. Blond hair originated in Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea countries, so that’s the epicentre of blondism. I spent a long weekend in Estonia once - by far the blondest place I’ve ever been. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/58 "2015-09-05T15:24:54Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Wrong supermodel; he’s married to Iman Abdulmajid. I blame menopausal brain fog. TY, ignorance fought! ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/59 "2015-09-05T15:36:57Z")
PS: A lot of children start out with blond hair, which darkens over time. ---
**Author:** ![RebrandingHumor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/22d042/32.png) [@RebrandingHumor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RebrandingHumor)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368/60 "2015-09-06T03:12:19Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > This. > > The majority of adult blondes seem to have got it from a bottle. Swedish children are very often blonde and the hair darkens as they age. In my Stockholm office right now I can see about twenty to thirty people, about 70-30 male-female split. Three are blonde. Dont know about Swedes but majority of people in the Netherlands, Denmark and Northern germany are blonde. Sweden and Norway (and this apply to finland too)actually have quite a few people with brown and black hair coming mainly from central and northern parts of the country, blondes swedes are vast majority around skane which is the south end of the country [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-british-people-do-have-dark-hair-and-eyes/729368.md?page=4)