Gabriel (left) and Mary in da Vinci's painting Annunciation.
Gabriel, according to the Earth religion of Christianity, was an archangel.
In 2268, Dr. McCoy quipped that just once he would like to transport down to a primitive planet and say, "Behold, I am the Archangel Gabriel!" Spock, however, did not find any humor in breaking the Prime Directive, to which McCoy agreeably retorted, "You could hardly claim to be an angel with those pointed ears, but say you landed someplace with a pitchfork", referencing Spock's apparent physical similarities to the Devil. (TOS: "Bread and Circuses")
Leonardo da Vinci's painting Annunciation depicted Gabriel speaking to Mary. This painting was found among the relics in Kathryn Janeway's da Vinci holodeck program. (VOY: "Scorpion", "Scientific Method", "Concerning Flight", "The Raven")
Background[]
The angel Gabriel appears by name in the Bible books of Daniel and Luke. He is only referred to as an archangel in so-called apocryphal writings. In the Book of Daniel, Gabriel comes to the aid of the archangel Michael.
The names of Gabriel Lorca and Gabrielle Burnham may both be allusions to the angel Gabriel.
According to the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 197), Gabriel Bell was named after the angel Gabriel.