The first asteroids to be discovered were assigned iconic symbols like the ones traditionally used to designate the planets.

Lentz had assigned symbols to a great number of factors, some social, some psychological, some physical, some economic.

Another device in assigning military symbols is in honor of the person that had devised the agent, such as Agent TZ (saxitoxin), which was derived after the name of its principal investigator, Dr. Edward Shantz.

Other Units of the Commandwere assigned equally distinctive symbols, thereby enabling property and induviduals immediately identified by the markings required on the packing cases, wagons, helmets and other property articles".

As more new asteroids were discovered, astronomers continued to assign symbols to them.

In Studies in Perception I they created an image of a reclining nude (the dancer Deborah Hay), by scanning a photograph with a camera and converting the analog voltages to binary numbers which were assigned typographic symbols based on halftone densities.

The HGNC summarises its approach to naming genes and assigning symbols (gene name abbreviations) as follows:

Asteroids discovered prior to Massalia were assigned iconic symbols, like the ones traditionally used to designate the planets.

It soon became apparent, though, that continuing to assign symbols was impractical and provided no assistance when the number of known minor planets was in the tens.

Assign names and/or symbols, as well as numbers, to up to 500 waypoints, to identify their location or purpose.