We were watching the British show Taskmaster and suddenly the participants began talking about "ladybirds." From my copious British mystery reading I knew they meant "ladybugs" but no one else in the family did. So, when we looked it up we found a wonderful etymology.
The common English name ladybird originated in Britain where the insects became known as "Our Lady's birds". Mary ("Our Lady") was often depicted wearing a red cloak in early art, and the seven spots of the species Coccinella septempunctata (the most common in Europe) were said to represent her seven joys and seven sorrows. In the United States, the name was popularly adapted to ladybug. ... Names in some other countries may be similar; for example, in Germany they are known as Marienkäfer meaning 'Marybeetle' or 'ladybeetle'. — WikipediaI love the idea that back in the day a ladybug would have made people think, however briefly, of Mary. Whenever I see a ladybug I'm going to think about Mary.
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