For a comparison in ways of addressing Mary, compare the start of the Spanish and English versions of the 2d. verse of the Hail Mary:
English: “Holy Mary Mother of God pray for us…”
Spanish: “Santa María Madre de Dios ruega por nosotros…”
In Spanish, as in Latin, the word for “Saint” (the righteous) and the word for “Holy” (the adjective that describes their quality) are one and the same (“San” is an abbreviation of “Santo”). So to a Spanish-speaker, Mary is frequently heard being referred to as “Santa ______” , as would any “Saint”, even if what we’re doing most often IS saying the equivalent of English’s “BVM” or “Holy Mother of God”, “la Santísima Virgen”, “la Santa Madre de Dios”.
Of course, often we just say simply “la Virgen” . I was about 12 when I finally found out that word had a real-world meaning…
I also add the comment that growing up I often heard the Archangels addressed as “Saints” (San Gabriel, San Miguel(*), San Rafael); yet not so the OT patriarchs and prophets, who are also canonical saints.
jrd
(*)No, he’s not the patron saint of imported beer, ya smart-alecks.