Rise of the ‘geriatric dads' as Mick Jagger effect takes hold
The number of babies born to fathers aged over 60 jumped by 14.2pc to 1,076 last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The increase was by far the highest among parents of any age group or gender and the ONS described the jump as 'notable'.
It means more men are joining the ranks of celebrities like Sir Mick Jagger, Al Pacino and Sir Rod Stewart, all of whom had children after they were past pension age.
Vincent Straub, a men's health researcher from the University of Oxford, said celebrity 'geriatric dads' had made it more acceptable to have children in later life and could help to explain the rise.
Mr Straub said: 'My hunch is there is presumably an increase in the cultural media coverage of well-known figures that have babies really later in life. Geriatric dads is the newest term – like Robert De Niro or Mick Jagger.'
The Rolling Stones singer had his eighth child aged 73 in 2016. De Niro, meanwhile, was 79 when he welcomed his seventh child in 2023.
Other high-profile examples include Pacino, who had his son Roman aged 83 in 2023, and Sir Rod, who was 66 when he had his youngest child in 2011.
Health risks
Christiaan Monden, a demographer at the University of Oxford, said the 'surprising' rise in new fathers over 60 last year reflected the fact that people are living longer and societal norms are changing.
Mr Monden said: 'There's an increased acceptance of remarriage or second partnerships and women having children at higher ages. There's also probably a bit more acceptance of large age differences between partners, and so that makes it possible to have more of these births.'
Older fathers in the ONS's figures tend to be younger sexagenarians, rather than men in their 70s or 80s.
Mr Monden said: 'In this group, the vast majority are men between 60 and 64, so it is not the kind of Al Pacino or Mick Jagger age range. That's really very uncommon.'
While the news is likely to be welcomed by politicians like Nigel Farage, who have expressed concern about Britain's sluggish birth rate, researcher Mr Straub warned the development was concerning from a public health perspective.
Men becoming fathers late in life is 'definitely not risk-free' and comes with a higher likelihood of the children having autism.
Mr Straub said: 'It shows men's comparative lack of fertility education compared to women. They think that they don't really have this biological clock. But there are still all these associations with decreased fertility chances and more adverse outcomes for children, the older men are at conception.
'This uptick over the last year should ultimately worry policymakers because it means that there could be a potential increase in the health risks to these children.'
Mr Monden added that the overall fertility rate for older men has been broadly stable for decades, so it is too soon to declare a Jagger-inspired baby boom.
The rise in older fathers comes as births across England and Wales increased for the first time since 2021.
Births remain low by historical standards, however. Some 594,677 children were born last year, marking a small 0.6pc uplift from the 46-year low reached in 2023.
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