Variant naming matrix

Type: Comparative view
Status: Active derived view
Canonical for: The controlled public Button-property sample across mature design systems
Depends on: Linked first-party component documentation; interpretation follows the reconciliation

This is a controlled Button sample. “Meaning” describes the dominant documented dimension, not an assumed dictionary meaning.

System	Public property / mechanism	Values sampled	Dominant documented meaning	Mixing or separation	Source
IBM Carbon	kind	primary, secondary, tertiary, danger, ghost	hierarchy + consequence + appearance	mixed	usage
Atlassian	appearance	default, primary, subtle, warning, danger, discovery, rovo	prominence + consequence + experience identity	highly mixed	Button
Microsoft Fluent 2	appearance	primary, secondary, outline, subtle, transparent	prominence and visual treatment	mixed; prose supplies hierarchy	React Button usage
Adobe Spectrum WC	variant; treatment; static-color	accent/primary/secondary/negative; fill/outline; black/white	emphasis/consequence; treatment; context color	partially separated	Button
React Spectrum	variant; style	accent/primary/secondary/negative; fill/outline	visual style/emphasis; treatment	partially separated	Button
GitLab Pajamas	category; variant; state props	primary/secondary/tertiary; default/confirm/danger/link	visual emphasis; action meaning; state	substantially separated	Button
Shopify Polaris WC	variant; tone; color	component-dependent; critical/success/info; subdued/strong	rendering; semantic color group; intensity	separated dimensions	web components
GitHub Primer	variant	default, primary, danger, invisible, link	visual style with hierarchy/consequence	mixed	Button
Material Web	separate component types	filled, filled-tonal, outlined, elevated, text	appearance with documented emphasis	type split; usage in prose	Button
GOV.UK	CSS modifiers	secondary, warning, inverse	hierarchy; consequence; context	mixed modifier namespace	Button
USWDS	CSS modifiers	secondary, accent-cool/warm, base, outline, inverse, big, unstyled	color, appearance, context, size	mixed modifier namespace	Button
PatternFly	variants/types	primary, secondary, tertiary, danger, link, icon, CTA, progress	hierarchy + consequence + form/behavior	mixed	guidelines
Salesforce Lightning	variant	neutral, base, brand, brand-outline, destructive, destructive-text, inverse, success	brand/color + treatment + consequence + context	highly mixed	lightning-button
Base Web	kind	primary, secondary, tertiary, minimal	action hierarchy	single relative axis	Button
Radix Themes	variant; color; highContrast; loading	classic, solid, soft, surface, outline, ghost	appearance; color; contrast; state	cleanly separated, little intent	Button

Observed patterns

• Documented: variant, kind and appearance do not have stable cross-system meanings.
• Documented: some systems use appearance labels and attach use guidance in prose; others put consequence terms beside hierarchy terms in the same enum.
• Demonstrated: GitLab, Spectrum, Shopify and Radix show that orthogonal axes can be represented separately in public APIs.
• Not established: public documentation does not show that any of these architectures produces higher LLM selection accuracy.

Beyond Button sample

Feedback components commonly use info, success, warning, critical and neutral, usually as status/tone rather than hierarchy. Selection components expose states (selected, checked, disabled) that are closer to stable platform semantics. Surfaces use appearance/context words such as raised, elevated, subtle and inverse. The recurrence of the same words in different dimensions confirms that the issue is broader than Button, but Button remains the cleanest controlled comparison.