diff --git a/src/mark.js b/src/mark.js
index 86039ad5f62..95a82529b6f 100644
--- a/src/mark.js
+++ b/src/mark.js
@@ -136,16 +136,16 @@ const colors = new Set(["currentColor", "none"]);
 // tuple [channel, constant] where one of the two is undefined, and the other is
 // the given value. If you wish to reference a named field that is also a valid
 // CSS color, use an accessor (d => d.red) instead.
-export function maybeColor(value, defaultValue) {
+export function maybeColorChannel(value, defaultValue) {
   if (value === undefined) value = defaultValue;
   return value === null ? [undefined, "none"]
     : typeof value === "string" && (colors.has(value) || color(value)) ? [undefined, value]
     : [value, undefined];
 }
 
-// Similar to maybeColor, this tests whether the given value is a number
+// Similar to maybeColorChannel, this tests whether the given value is a number
 // indicating a constant, and otherwise assumes that it’s a channel value.
-export function maybeNumber(value, defaultValue) {
+export function maybeNumberChannel(value, defaultValue) {
   if (value === undefined) value = defaultValue;
   return value === null || typeof value === "number" ? [undefined, value]
     : [value, undefined];
@@ -204,8 +204,8 @@ export function maybeTuple(x, y) {
 // A helper for extracting the z channel, if it is variable. Used by transforms
 // that require series, such as moving average and normalize.
 export function maybeZ({z, fill, stroke} = {}) {
-  if (z === undefined) ([z] = maybeColor(fill));
-  if (z === undefined) ([z] = maybeColor(stroke));
+  if (z === undefined) ([z] = maybeColorChannel(fill));
+  if (z === undefined) ([z] = maybeColorChannel(stroke));
   return z;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/marks/cell.js b/src/marks/cell.js
index 39611ed5738..04acb9cdd2a 100644
--- a/src/marks/cell.js
+++ b/src/marks/cell.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import {identity, indexOf, maybeColor, maybeTuple} from "../mark.js";
+import {identity, indexOf, maybeColorChannel, maybeTuple} from "../mark.js";
 import {AbstractBar} from "./bar.js";
 
 export class Cell extends AbstractBar {
@@ -26,11 +26,11 @@ export function cell(data, {x, y, ...options} = {}) {
 }
 
 export function cellX(data, {x = indexOf, fill, stroke, ...options} = {}) {
-  if (fill === undefined && maybeColor(stroke)[0] === undefined) fill = identity;
+  if (fill === undefined && maybeColorChannel(stroke)[0] === undefined) fill = identity;
   return new Cell(data, {...options, x, fill, stroke});
 }
 
 export function cellY(data, {y = indexOf, fill, stroke, ...options} = {}) {
-  if (fill === undefined && maybeColor(stroke)[0] === undefined) fill = identity;
+  if (fill === undefined && maybeColorChannel(stroke)[0] === undefined) fill = identity;
   return new Cell(data, {...options, y, fill, stroke});
 }
diff --git a/src/marks/dot.js b/src/marks/dot.js
index 6df80155ad4..5e125d9e02c 100644
--- a/src/marks/dot.js
+++ b/src/marks/dot.js
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import {create, path, symbolCircle} from "d3";
 import {filter, positive} from "../defined.js";
-import {Mark, identity, maybeNumber, maybeTuple} from "../mark.js";
-import {maybeSymbol} from "../scales/symbol.js";
+import {Mark, identity, maybeNumberChannel, maybeTuple} from "../mark.js";
+import {maybeSymbolChannel} from "../scales/symbol.js";
 import {applyChannelStyles, applyDirectStyles, applyIndirectStyles, applyTransform, offset} from "../style.js";
 
 const defaults = {
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@ const defaults = {
 export class Dot extends Mark {
   constructor(data, options = {}) {
     const {x, y, r, rotate, symbol} = options;
-    const [vr, cr] = maybeNumber(r, 3);
-    const [vrotate, crotate] = maybeNumber(rotate, 0);
-    const [vsymbol, csymbol] = maybeSymbol(symbol);
+    const [vr, cr] = maybeNumberChannel(r, 3);
+    const [vrotate, crotate] = maybeNumberChannel(rotate, 0);
+    const [vsymbol, csymbol] = maybeSymbolChannel(symbol);
     super(
       data,
       [
diff --git a/src/marks/image.js b/src/marks/image.js
index 302b59b535a..dd037de4501 100644
--- a/src/marks/image.js
+++ b/src/marks/image.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import {create} from "d3";
 import {filter, positive} from "../defined.js";
-import {Mark, maybeNumber, maybeTuple, string} from "../mark.js";
+import {Mark, maybeNumberChannel, maybeTuple, string} from "../mark.js";
 import {applyChannelStyles, applyDirectStyles, applyIndirectStyles, applyTransform, applyAttr, offset, impliedString} from "../style.js";
 
 const defaults = {
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ function isUrl(string) {
 
 // Disambiguates a constant src definition from a channel. A path or URL string
 // is assumed to be a constant; any other string is assumed to be a field name.
-function maybePath(value) {
+function maybePathChannel(value) {
   return typeof value === "string" && (isPath(value) || isUrl(value))
     ? [undefined, value]
     : [value, undefined];
@@ -35,9 +35,9 @@ export class Image extends Mark {
     let {x, y, width, height, src, preserveAspectRatio, crossOrigin} = options;
     if (width === undefined && height !== undefined) width = height;
     else if (height === undefined && width !== undefined) height = width;
-    const [vs, cs] = maybePath(src);
-    const [vw, cw] = maybeNumber(width, 16);
-    const [vh, ch] = maybeNumber(height, 16);
+    const [vs, cs] = maybePathChannel(src);
+    const [vw, cw] = maybeNumberChannel(width, 16);
+    const [vh, ch] = maybeNumberChannel(height, 16);
     super(
       data,
       [
diff --git a/src/marks/text.js b/src/marks/text.js
index e0a3a748b31..b8e3a23559b 100644
--- a/src/marks/text.js
+++ b/src/marks/text.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import {create} from "d3";
 import {filter, nonempty} from "../defined.js";
-import {Mark, indexOf, identity, string, maybeNumber, maybeTuple, numberChannel} from "../mark.js";
+import {Mark, indexOf, identity, string, maybeNumberChannel, maybeTuple, numberChannel} from "../mark.js";
 import {applyChannelStyles, applyDirectStyles, applyIndirectStyles, applyAttr, applyTransform, offset} from "../style.js";
 
 const defaults = {
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ export class Text extends Mark {
       dy = "0.32em",
       rotate
     } = options;
-    const [vrotate, crotate] = maybeNumber(rotate, 0);
-    const [vfontSize, cfontSize] = maybeNumber(fontSize);
+    const [vrotate, crotate] = maybeNumberChannel(rotate, 0);
+    const [vfontSize, cfontSize] = maybeNumberChannel(fontSize);
     super(
       data,
       [
diff --git a/src/marks/vector.js b/src/marks/vector.js
index 741389f87af..20cd0b14ea7 100644
--- a/src/marks/vector.js
+++ b/src/marks/vector.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import {create} from "d3";
 import {filter} from "../defined.js";
-import {Mark, identity, maybeNumber, maybeTuple, keyword} from "../mark.js";
+import {Mark, identity, maybeNumberChannel, maybeTuple, keyword} from "../mark.js";
 import {radians} from "../math.js";
 import {applyChannelStyles, applyDirectStyles, applyIndirectStyles, applyTransform, offset} from "../style.js";
 
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@ const defaults = {
 export class Vector extends Mark {
   constructor(data, options = {}) {
     const {x, y, length, rotate, anchor = "middle"} = options;
-    const [vl, cl] = maybeNumber(length, 12);
-    const [vr, cr] = maybeNumber(rotate, 0);
+    const [vl, cl] = maybeNumberChannel(length, 12);
+    const [vr, cr] = maybeNumberChannel(rotate, 0);
     super(
       data,
       [
diff --git a/src/scales/ordinal.js b/src/scales/ordinal.js
index 37c2ceed84a..33a205ae668 100644
--- a/src/scales/ordinal.js
+++ b/src/scales/ordinal.js
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import {scaleBand, scaleOrdinal, scalePoint, scaleImplicit} from "d3";
 import {ordinalScheme, quantitativeScheme} from "./schemes.js";
 import {ascendingDefined} from "../defined.js";
 import {registry, color, symbol} from "./index.js";
+import {maybeSymbol} from "./symbol.js";
 
 export function ScaleO(scale, channels, {
   type,
@@ -23,12 +24,14 @@ export function ScaleO(scale, channels, {
 
 export function ScaleOrdinal(key, channels, {
   type,
-  range = registry.get(key) === symbol ? symbols : undefined, // TODO map symbol names to implementations
+  range,
   scheme = range === undefined ? type === "ordinal" ? "turbo" : "tableau10" : undefined,
   unknown,
   ...options
 }) {
-  if (registry.get(key) === color && scheme !== undefined) {
+  if (registry.get(key) === symbol) {
+    range = range === undefined ? symbols : Array.from(range, maybeSymbol);
+  } else if (registry.get(key) === color && scheme !== undefined) {
     if (range !== undefined) {
       const interpolate = quantitativeScheme(scheme);
       const t0 = range[0], d = range[1] - range[0];
diff --git a/src/scales/symbol.js b/src/scales/symbol.js
index f54d5a7b60a..96fc2089da9 100644
--- a/src/scales/symbol.js
+++ b/src/scales/symbol.js
@@ -14,9 +14,15 @@ function isSymbol(symbol) {
   return symbol && typeof symbol.draw === "function";
 }
 
-export function maybeSymbol(symbol = symbolCircle) {
-  if (symbol == null) return [undefined, null];
-  if (isSymbol(symbol)) return [undefined, symbol];
+export function maybeSymbol(symbol) {
+  if (symbol == null || isSymbol(symbol)) return symbol;
+  const value = symbols.get(`${symbol}`.toLowerCase());
+  if (value) return value;
+  throw new Error(`invalid symbol: ${symbol}`);
+}
+
+export function maybeSymbolChannel(symbol = symbolCircle) {
+  if (symbol == null || isSymbol(symbol)) return [undefined, symbol];
   if (typeof symbol === "string") {
     const value = symbols.get(`${symbol}`.toLowerCase());
     if (value) return [undefined, value];
diff --git a/src/style.js b/src/style.js
index cdb056e2821..4c55be9769b 100644
--- a/src/style.js
+++ b/src/style.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import {namespaces} from "d3";
-import {string, number, maybeColor, maybeNumber, title, titleGroup} from "./mark.js";
+import {string, number, maybeColorChannel, maybeNumberChannel, title, titleGroup} from "./mark.js";
 import {filter} from "./defined.js";
 
 export const offset = typeof window !== "undefined" && window.devicePixelRatio > 1 ? 0 : 0.5;
@@ -58,11 +58,11 @@ export function styles(
     if (none(defaultStroke) && !none(stroke)) defaultFill = "none";
   }
 
-  const [vfill, cfill] = maybeColor(fill, defaultFill);
-  const [vfillOpacity, cfillOpacity] = maybeNumber(fillOpacity);
-  const [vstroke, cstroke] = maybeColor(stroke, defaultStroke);
-  const [vstrokeOpacity, cstrokeOpacity] = maybeNumber(strokeOpacity);
-  const [vopacity, copacity] = maybeNumber(opacity);
+  const [vfill, cfill] = maybeColorChannel(fill, defaultFill);
+  const [vfillOpacity, cfillOpacity] = maybeNumberChannel(fillOpacity);
+  const [vstroke, cstroke] = maybeColorChannel(stroke, defaultStroke);
+  const [vstrokeOpacity, cstrokeOpacity] = maybeNumberChannel(strokeOpacity);
+  const [vopacity, copacity] = maybeNumberChannel(opacity);
 
   // For styles that have no effect if there is no stroke, only apply the
   // defaults if the stroke is not (constant) none.
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ export function styles(
     if (strokeMiterlimit === undefined) strokeMiterlimit = defaultStrokeMiterlimit;
   }
 
-  const [vstrokeWidth, cstrokeWidth] = maybeNumber(strokeWidth);
+  const [vstrokeWidth, cstrokeWidth] = maybeNumberChannel(strokeWidth);
 
   // Some marks don’t support fill (e.g., tick and rule).
   if (defaultFill !== null) {
diff --git a/src/transforms/bin.js b/src/transforms/bin.js
index 4e87b89ad4d..e080e0d7931 100644
--- a/src/transforms/bin.js
+++ b/src/transforms/bin.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import {bin as binner, extent, thresholdFreedmanDiaconis, thresholdScott, thresholdSturges, utcTickInterval} from "d3";
-import {valueof, range, identity, maybeLazyChannel, maybeTuple, maybeColor, maybeValue, mid, labelof, isTemporal} from "../mark.js";
+import {valueof, range, identity, maybeLazyChannel, maybeTuple, maybeColorChannel, maybeValue, mid, labelof, isTemporal} from "../mark.js";
 import {coerceDate} from "../scales.js";
 import {basic} from "./basic.js";
 import {hasOutput, maybeEvaluator, maybeGroup, maybeOutput, maybeOutputs, maybeReduce, maybeSort, maybeSubgroup, reduceCount, reduceIdentity} from "./group.js";
@@ -81,8 +81,8 @@ function binn(
     ...options
   } = inputs;
   const [GZ, setGZ] = maybeLazyChannel(z);
-  const [vfill] = maybeColor(fill);
-  const [vstroke] = maybeColor(stroke);
+  const [vfill] = maybeColorChannel(fill);
+  const [vstroke] = maybeColorChannel(stroke);
   const [GF = fill, setGF] = maybeLazyChannel(vfill);
   const [GS = stroke, setGS] = maybeLazyChannel(vstroke);
 
diff --git a/src/transforms/group.js b/src/transforms/group.js
index d61628e9928..fbc3a006485 100644
--- a/src/transforms/group.js
+++ b/src/transforms/group.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import {group as grouper, sort, sum, deviation, min, max, mean, median, mode, variance, InternSet, minIndex, maxIndex} from "d3";
 import {ascendingDefined, firstof} from "../defined.js";
-import {valueof, maybeColor, maybeInput, maybeTuple, maybeLazyChannel, lazyChannel, first, identity, take, labelof, range} from "../mark.js";
+import {valueof, maybeColorChannel, maybeInput, maybeTuple, maybeLazyChannel, lazyChannel, first, identity, take, labelof, range} from "../mark.js";
 import {basic} from "./basic.js";
 
 // Group on {z, fill, stroke}.
@@ -66,8 +66,8 @@ function groupn(
     ...options
   } = inputs;
   const [GZ, setGZ] = maybeLazyChannel(z);
-  const [vfill] = maybeColor(fill);
-  const [vstroke] = maybeColor(stroke);
+  const [vfill] = maybeColorChannel(fill);
+  const [vstroke] = maybeColorChannel(stroke);
   const [GF = fill, setGF] = maybeLazyChannel(vfill);
   const [GS = stroke, setGS] = maybeLazyChannel(vstroke);