Doggie Style has nothing to do with sex but is a grooming salon for dogs in Calgary.

Death by Chocolate is not the morbid fantasy of chocoholics but a dessert bar in Vancouver and Edmonton.

Clip Art is not a computer program, it’s a hairstylist in Halifax.

They’re just a few of the quirky names of Canadian businesses aimed at drawing in customers and maybe drawing out smiles.

Barb Prueckel was looking for a fun, catchy name for her Calgary dog-grooming business when she came up with Doggie Style. She said the name is a big draw.

“We get tons of comments about it, mostly people finding it very, very humorous. I’ve only had two people in the past six years that have had an issue with it,’’ she said.

“Nobody ever forgets it and everyone knows where we are. We’ve had people pull into the parking lot and take pictures of the front of the salon.’’ Cute names abound in the domestic pet-grooming industry. Winnipeg has Brush Puppies, Calgary has Wags to Whiskers and Edmonton has Little Arfn’ Annie and Laundromutt.

There’s also Kit ’n Kapoodles in Victoria, Fetching Style in Winnipeg, Ruff Cuts in Ottawa and Happy Tails in Vancouver.

Dale Griffen, a University of B.C. marketing and consumer expert, says the chief attractions of cute names are recognition and emotion.

“In the neighbourhood business – the dog groomer, the neighbourhood restaurant – where it’s more of a relationship, a one-to-one, you want to catch people’s attention and in most of these cases you want to give them a sense of fun, a sense of emotional connection,’’ he said.

The Death by Chocolate dessert bar originated in Auckland, N.Z., in 1991 and was brought to Canada by Vancouver businessman Shakil Adam, who says people are intrigued by the name.

“They want to know more so they walk into the store or they go to the website,” Adam said in an interview. “Once in a while we’ll have somebody that isn’t thrilled with the name for superstitious reasons, but on an overall basis I think the name is a positive one simply because it generates a lot of excitement.’’ While Death by Chocolate and Toronto’s 2 Die 4 Sandwich Dessert Bar will perk up the tastebuds of some people, the names of these restaurants could stir other passions: The Amorous Oyster, Oh Darling! and the Kinki Japanese Seafood Place (all in Vancouver), the Sensual Cafe in Toronto and Hot For You in Calgary.

Restaurant names can also include, well, names. For example: My Other Brother Darrell’s in Halifax, What About Bob’s in Calgary and Fred’s Not Here in Toronto.

A caffeine rush may be responsible for a rash of unique names for coffee bars.

There’s Bean Around the World in Vancouver and Victoria, Coffee Cats in Calgary, Cuppa Cafe in Halifax and Thanks A Latte in Ottawa.

Getting back to dogs – if they can have fun names for grooming salons, why not humans?

Vancouver has Hair to Dye For, there’s Hair-Em and Hairitage, both in St. John’s, and Split NZ in Victoria.

Griffen says cute names aren’t always a good idea.

“The downside is they’re not great at building trust, that (they’re not) giving the signals that this is reputable long-term business, that you want with a big-ticket item,’’ he said.

“But they’re great for catching people’s attention and they have that emotional feel-good quality that can be valuable.’’