Two globetrotters have been forced to defend themselves against trolls after they were criticised for naming their kids after fictional adventure characters.
John Newby, 45, and his wife, Tara, 35, who have travelled 24 countries with their 20-month-year-old, were keen to give the little one a name to match his lifestyle.
So, they settled on Crusoe - naming him after Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe's fictional castaway. They also named their youngest son, aged 12 weeks, Sawyer after Mark Twain's famous adventurer, Tom Sawyer.
But not everyone is as enamored with the names as the proud parents, who were inspired by their love of travel.
Together, the family have visited 24 countries since they welcomed Crusoe, with the youngster going on his first adventure at just seven weeks old. Since then, he's visited USA, Morocco, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Hungary, Slovakia, Monaco and Italy to name a few places.
His brother, Sawyer, who arrived in September 2022, has also been off to a strong start - having seen England, Spain, Portugal and Zimbabwe so far. Despite the pair suiting their names perfectly, dad John, says some people disagree with their name choices.
The parent explained that he loved Robinson Crusoe growing up and he always knew he wanted to use the baby name; luckily, Tara was on side too. However, she was less keen on his suggestion of Huckleberry, when it came to baby two. In the end, they happily settled on Thomas Sawyer's name.
"We have had some people confused or disagreeing with the names," John revealed. "We had one person comment on one of our YouTube videos saying, 'What a stupid name to name a boy, you've done that for your own benefit without any thought for the child and he's going to be bullied for having such a dumb name'.
"But I disagree. There's a story behind it, a lot of thought went into it. It wasn't a thoughtless decision and I think one day it will help him - his name makes him stand out."
Tara, who is originally from Zimbabwe, met John in his native Oxfordshire in 2012, when they both worked for a holiday firm that sold safaris.
But they went their separate ways and did not get together until seven years later. They were reunited by mutual friends in Spain in 2019, and quickly tied the knot in Antarctica in February 2020.
Upon returning to the UK in March 2020, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the pair soon decided to quit their jobs, sell their home and take up life on the road in a converted Toyota van.
Soon after they left in July 2020, Tara discovered she was pregnant, but the couple were undeterred and are pleased Crusoe has been able to live the same life of adventure as his namesake.
Proud mum Tara said: "Everything we've done is beyond my wildest dreams of what life was going to be like.
"Robinson Crusoe is John's favourite book of all time because it inspired him as a young boy to think of a life of adventure.
"Now we're living that. To know these have been Crusoe's first years of life means everything."
John added: "Crusoe has 100 percent grown into his name. He's a very curious little boy, very determined, very independent.
"We're living on a farm in Portugal right now, renovating it and sharing it on our YouTube channel, The Newby's and he’s always involved in the projects."
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