A Comprehensive Glossary of College Greek Letters

From Alpha to Omega, Learn What Symbols Stand for Which Letters

College students talking at sorority mixer or party
Steve Debenport / Getty Images
By
Kelci Lynn Lucier
Kelci Lynn Lucier
Education Expert
  • M.Ed., Higher Education Administration, Harvard University
  • B.A., English and Comparative Literary Studies, Occidental College
Kelci Lynn Lucier has worked in higher education for over a decade. She is the author of "College Stress Solutions" and features on many media outlets.
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Updated on July 03, 2019

Greek-lettered organizations in North America date back to 1776, when students at William and Mary College founded a secret society called Phi Beta Kappa. Since then, dozens of groups have followed suit by drawing their names from the Greek alphabet, sometimes choosing letters that represented their mottoes (also in Greek). The fraternal organizations of the eighteenth century started out as secret literary societies, but today, people most commonly associate Greek-letter groups with the social fraternities and sororities on college campuses. Many collegiate honors societies and educational groups chose Greek letters for their names, as well.

The letters below are shown in their capitalized forms and are listed in alphabetical order, according to the modern Greek alphabet.

Modern Greek Alphabet

Greek Letter Name
Α Alpha
Β Beta
Γ Gamma
Δ Delta
Ε Epsilon
Ζ Zeta
Η Eta
Θ Theta
Ι Iota
Κ Kappa
Λ Lambda
Μ Mu
Ν Nu
Ξ Xi
Ο Omicron
Π Pi
Ρ Rho
Σ Sigma
Τ Tau
Υ Upsilon
Φ Phi
Χ Chi
Ψ Psi
Ω Omega

Thinking of joining a fraternity or sorority? Learn how to decide if it's right for you.

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Lucier, Kelci Lynn. "A Comprehensive Glossary of College Greek Letters." ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/college-greek-letters-793471. Lucier, Kelci Lynn. (2020, August 27). A Comprehensive Glossary of College Greek Letters. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/college-greek-letters-793471 Lucier, Kelci Lynn. "A Comprehensive Glossary of College Greek Letters." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/college-greek-letters-793471 (accessed April 26, 2024).