Fame/Flynet

James Van Der Beek and wife Kimberly revealed the name of their baby boy in Kimberly's new blog on People.com! The couple's first son, born two weeks ago, is named Joshua. Van Der Beek, known for his role as Dawson on the hit WB show of the late 90s Dawson's Creek, shared the news of the birth on Twitter on March 13. 

Dawson's Creek may have ended in 2003, but for six seasons, James starred alongside another Joshua -- Dawson's best friend and romantic rival Pacey was played by actor Joshua Jackson. Although we would love to imagine the two actors are best friends in real life and still keep in touch (after all, they were roommates during their first season of Dawson's Creek), there was probably a different reason for choosing Joshua as the name for his first son. 

Joshua is a Biblical name, derived from the Hebrew Yehoshua and makes sense for the couple since Kimberly and James met in Israel and later returned to marry there. Kimberly is also a professed student of Kabbalah. It's a popular name worldwide and in the United States, where it skyrocketed in the 1970s to a top 50 name and was a staple in the top 10 until recently -- in 2010 it ranked No. 11. 

The Van Der Beeks, so far, are fond of popular names -- their first baby, born in 2010, is named Olivia. Olivia was ranked No. 4 that year and is also an international hit. Not as old a name as Joshua, but definitely not new, Olivia comes from Olive, as in the tree and is a Shakespeare name, used in his comedy The Twelfth Night. 

Joshua also joins the many J-names of James's family. His father is also named James and he has two siblings named Jared and Juliana. 

What do you think of Joshua and Olivia as a sibset? What do you think about giving your child the same name as an old friend or colleague, either on purpose or coincidentally? 

--A.F.