How Women’s Fraternities and Sororities Came to Be
Founders’ Day is the perfect time to honor our Fraternity’s roots and reflect on our shared history. It’s also a time to celebrate the brave, pathbreaking women who established organizations similar to Pi Beta Phi and to appreciate the broader history of women’s fraternities and sororities and the positive impact they have had on our society.
In honor of Pi Beta Phi’s Founders’ Day on April 28, we’re diving into the rich history of women’s fraternities and sororities and the enduring legacy they have today.
When did women’s fraternities and sororities start?
Women’s fraternities and sororities began forming in the mid-19th century, which was a time when more women were starting to pursue higher education. In 1867, Pi Beta Phi—originally known as I.C. Sorosis—was founded at Monmouth College in Illinois, becoming the first national fraternity for women. Pi Phi was also the first to expand beyond its founding campus, helping to shape the framework for what we now know as the modern fraternity/sorority experience.
Although the organization changed its name to Pi Beta Phi in 1888, the Greek letters had been part of its identity since the very beginning. Founder Nancy Black Wallace is credited with selecting the letters Pi Beta Phi, and some early chapters were already using them informally well before the name change.
Other organizations soon followed, including Kappa Kappa Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta and Delta Gamma, each establishing multiple chapters in the years before the formation of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) in 1902. Alongside Pi Beta Phi, these groups—along with Alpha Phi, Gamma Phi Beta and Delta Delta Delta—would become the seven founding members of the NPC. These early women’s fraternities played a defining role in creating a national presence of women’s organizations in higher education.
Although groups like the Adelphean Society (later Alpha Delta Pi) and the Philomathean Society (later Phi Mu) were founded earlier at Wesleyan Female College in Georgia, both remained single-campus organizations for decades and did not expand nationally until after the NPC was formed. The groundwork laid by Pi Beta Phi and its contemporaries made that broader growth possible.
Where do fraternity/sorority names come from?
Most fraternity and sorority names come from the Greek alphabet. Each letter represents the organization’s values, mission or founding principles. This tradition began with Phi Beta Kappa, an academic honor society founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. At the time, Latin and ancient Greek were considered the languages of higher education, with Greek seen as especially prestigious and scholarly. To reflect the organization’s serious academic focus, Phi Beta Kappa chose an ancient Greek motto: Φιλοσοφία Βίου Κυβερνήτης (Philosophía Bíou Kybernḗtēs) which translates to “Philosophy is the guide of life.” The initials of that phrase became the name of the organization itself: Phi Beta Kappa. Inspired by this example, other fraternities and sororities began adopting their own Greek letter names based on similar values-driven mottos.
Over time, the phrase “Greek life” became widely used to describe the community of organizations that use Greek letters in their names. Today, however, some organizations—like Pi Beta Phi—prefer the term “fraternity/sorority life,” which better reflects the values and purpose of these groups.
Why are women’s fraternities and sororities important?
Women’s fraternities and sororities offer much more than just fun traditions. They help women grow into the best versions of themselves. They foster personal and intellectual growth, not just during college, but well into alumnae life. With a strong sisterhood supporting them, members gain a network of friendship and encouragement that lasts a lifetime. Many women have gone on to become senior government officials, philanthropists, poets, artists, educators, healthcare professionals, scientists and much more. Every day, members who are apart of women’s fraternities and sororities make a difference in their communities. These organizations help shape confident, compassionate leaders who are reading to leave a lasting impact.
On April 28—Founders’ Day—we celebrate not only the rich history of our sisterhood, but also the legacies of women’s fraternities and sororities everywhere. We are proud of the brave, visionary women who established these organizations generations ago, as well as the incredible women who carry their legacy forward today.
Published April 21, 2025