A COUPLE have insisted they have no regrets over their kids' unique names, despite them being labelled "dumb".

John and Tara Newby say they don't care what people think about the names and that they make the children "stand out".

Travel lovers John, 45, and Tara, 35, named two sons after fictional adventure characters.

Their eldest is 20-month-old Crusoe, named after the title character from Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe.

His baby brother Sawyer, meanwhile, takes his moniker from Thomas Sawyer from Mark Twain's classic 1876 work Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

However, the couple say they aren't put off by criticism and carefully considered the names before making a decision.

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John, originally from Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, said: "I loved the Robinson Crusoe books growing up and as soon as I knew we were pregnant I knew I wanted to call our baby Crusoe.

"We had a big debate about it, but six months in Tara agreed and we knew it had to be Crusoe.

"Tara's parents were really confused at first – my parents just said it was me being a bit crazy again."

He added that, when their second son came along, the process was easier.

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The proud dad explained: "Sawyer was a bit easier for people to understand after Crusoe, and it's less of a name that challenges people, whereas Crusoe really did.

"Thomas Sawyer is a loveable rogue boy, a friend of the Huckleberry twins, but Tara wouldn't let me call him Huckleberry.

"It's since been mainly positive, I think it's familiar enough that people know what it means, but it's still interesting."

However, not everyone has been as accepting as the couple may have hoped.

John recalled: "We have had some people confused or disagreeing with the names.

"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."

Despite the negativity, the family are more than satisfied with their lot in life.

They currently live on a farm in northern Portugal, that they are in the process of renovating.

Tara and John quit their jobs and sold their home during the pandemic to take up life on the road in a converted Toyota van.

Shortly after, they discovered that Tara was pregnant and, since then, the children have more than lived up to their adventurous namesakes.

Crusoe has visited 24 countries, including the USA, Morocco, Botswana, Namibia and Monaco, since his birth.

Sawyer has also got off to a strong start, with four nations under his belt at just 12 weeks old.

Tara, originally from Zimbabwe, 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.

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"Now we're living that. To know these have been Crusoe's first years of life means everything."

John added that Crusoe has "grown into his name" and his very "curious", "determined" and "independent".

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