There have been plenty of musical acts active in the modern rock 'n' roll era that chose to augment their band's name with a number, such as the MC5, Blink-182 and U2. However, it takes a unique act to go for a purely numeric moniker like 311, the California-based act performing at Miami University's Millett Hall on Sunday, March 2.

Here's a quick look at the origins of 311 and some of the group's numbercentric brethren.

311: At various times, misguided fans have claimed this group's name is a slang term for smoking pot or a subtle reference to the Ku Klux Klan. According to founding member Nick Hexum, however, 311 was taken from the Omaha, Neb., Police Department's code for indecent exposure. "We liked that it was just abstract and that it did not define us in any way," Hexum has said. "The name did not describe our sound or our politics — it just let the music speak for itself."

20/20: A power pop band from Tulsa, Okla., that was active in the '70 and '80s. The group is best known for the underground hit "Yellow Pills," which enjoyed a bit of a revival in 2006 when it was included in the popular video game "Scarface: The World is Yours." The name is a reference to perfect 20/20 vision and not the ABC television news magazine that hit the air in 1978.

The 5678s: This three-piece female Japanese garage rock band rose to prominence after appearing in Quentin Tarantino's 2003 film "Kill Bill: Vol. 1." The name alludes to the fact the group often covers rock songs from the '50s through the '80s. The 5678s solidified its spot in pop culture infamy when the song "Woo Hoo" was featured in a 2004 television commercial for broadband phone company Vonage.

112: Formerly known as Forte, this Atlanta-based R&B group was re-dubbed 112 by Sean "Puffy" Combs when he signed the group to his label, Bad Boy Records, in the mid-'90s. No deep thought went into the new moniker — Combs took it from Club 112, the Atlanta venue where the vocal group auditioned for the rap-R&B impresario.

how to go

WHO: 311.

WHERE: Millett Hall, Miami University, Oxford.

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 2.

COST: $29.

MORE INFO: (513) 529-3200 or www.tickets.muohio.edu.