Annunziata

Annunziata is the Italian word for (feminine) Annunciation. It is generally understood to refer to the Virgin Mary, receiving the word of the Angel Gabriel that she is to bear the Christ child; that is, the Virgin Mary after the Annunciation. It is a common theme for iconic reverence in Roman Catholicism (see Immaculate Conception. In Catholic families where all the children are girls it is sometimes given to a new child in the hope that the next born will be a boy.