Motherboard model number is the most useful if you are troubleshooting a motherboard problem. It helps finding pictures, schematics, boardviews, known issues…
There is always a number written on the board itself. In some cases there's also a sticker that tells a variant.
There are several different board manufacturers, common ones are:
Quanta: found in HP, Dell, Acer, Toshiba, a few Lenovo… Model number on the board is "DA0xxxxMByyy" (first 0 is optional), "xxxxx" is the actual model and "yyy" contains the revision. For example DAY11AMB6E0 for Quanta Y11A rev E. Warning: 0 and O are hard to distinguish when reading from the board, for example DA0OP6MB6D0 for Quanta OP6.
Compal: found in HP, Dell, Acer, Toshiba, Lenovo… Model number is "LA-xxxxP" (P is optional), the older, the lower the number is. Like LA-4082P from 2007 or LA-E541P from 2017.
LCFC: found in Lenovo, it's actually Compal. Model number is "NM-xxxx"
Wistron: found in Acer (Wistron was part of Acer a long time ago), some Dell, HP, Lenovo… Model number is a "xxxxx-x" (x being a digit), often associated with a name. For example "Richie MB 11241-1".
Inventec: Toshiba, some Acer, HP… Model number is often "xxyyzz" with "x" being a letter, "y" a digit and "z" an optional letter. There's also a "6050xxxxxxxx-MB-xx" number that can be easier to spot. For example "SA10E" and "6050A2052401-MB-A04" for Inventec San Antonio 10E.
Foxconn: Sony, some HP. HP have a weird model number like "CHICAGO_HR_HPC MV_MB_V1" or "PM_I_HPC_S MV_MB_V3". Sony come with an "MBX-xxxx" number that's easy to identify, and another number, like "MBX-202" and "M790".
Pegatron: a few Acer and Toshiba. Acer in general have a "xxyyzz" with "x" being a letter, "y" a digit and "z" an optional letter. Toshiba have a weird model number like "PLF/PLR/CSF/CSR UMA"
Comment