The simplest fatty acids are unbranched, linear chains of CH₂ groups linked by carbon-carbon single bonds with one terminal carboxylic acid group. The term saturated indicates that the maximum possible number of hydrogen atoms are bonded to each carbon in the molecule. Many saturated fatty acids have a trivial or common name as well as a chemically descriptive systematic name. The systematic names are based on numbering the carbon atoms, beginning with the acidic carbon. The table gives the names and typical biological sources of the most common saturated fatty acids. Although the chains are usually between 12 and 24 carbons long, several shorter-chain fatty acids are biochemically important. For instance, butyric acid (C₄) and caproic acid (C₆) are lipids found in milk. Palm kernel oil, an important dietary source of fat in certain areas of the world, is rich in fatty acids that contain 8 and 10 carbons (C₈ and C₁₀).

Unsaturated fatty acids

Unsaturated fatty acids have one or more carbon-carbon double bonds. The term unsaturated indicates that fewer than the maximum possible number of hydrogen atoms are bonded to each carbon in the molecule. The number of double bonds is indicated by the generic name—monounsaturated for molecules with one double bond or polyunsaturated for molecules with two or more double bonds. Oleic acid is an example of a monounsaturated fatty acid. Common representative monounsaturated fatty acids together with their names and typical sources are listed in the table. The prefix cis-9 in the systematic name of palmitoleic acid denotes that the position of the double bond is between carbons 9 and 10. Two possible conformations, cis and trans, can be taken by the two CH₂ groups immediately adjacent to the double-bonded carbons. In the cis configuration, the one occurring in all biological unsaturated fatty acids, the two adjacent carbons lie on the same side of the double-bonded carbons. In the trans configuration, the two adjacent carbons lie on opposite sides of the double-bonded carbons.

Fatty acids containing more than one carbon-carbon double bond (polyunsaturated fatty acids) are found in relatively minor amounts. The multiple double bonds are almost always separated by a CH₂ group (―CH₂―CH=CH―CH₂―CH=CH―CH₂―), a regular spacing motif that is the result of the biosynthetic mechanism by which the double bonds are introduced into the hydrocarbon chain. The table lists the most common polyunsaturated fatty acids, linoleic and arachidonic, together with several that are less common. Arachidonic acid (C₂₀) is of particular interest as the precursor of a family of molecules, known as eicosanoids (from Greek eikosi, “twenty”), that includes prostaglandins, thromboxanes, and leukotrienes. These compounds, produced by cells under certain conditions, have potent physiological properties, as explained in the section Intracellular and extracellular messengers. Animals cannot synthesize two important fatty acids, linoleic acid (an omega-6 fatty acid) and alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid), that are the precursors of the eicosanoids and so must obtain them in the diet from plant sources. For this reason, these precursors are called essential fatty acids.

Trans polyunsaturated fatty acids, although not produced biosynthetically by mammals, are produced by microorganisms in the gut of ruminant animals such as cows and goats, and they are also produced synthetically by partial hydrogenation of fats and oils in the manufacture of margarine (the so-called trans fats). There is evidence that ingestion of trans fats can have deleterious metabolic effects.