# Frat naming **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 2, 2001, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frat-naming/67303 "2001-06-02T05:24:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![typo\_mna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@typo\_mna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typo_mna)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frat-naming/67303/1 "2001-06-02T05:24:04Z")
How do fraternities/sororities decide which letters to use? Do they come up with a nifty Greek phrase and make an acronym of it? Are they looking for a combination that flows trippingly from the tongue? How’s it done? ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frat-naming/67303/2 "2001-06-02T06:16:18Z")
Well, as for my own fraternity, I could tell you, but then Id have to kill you. I believe, though, that the simple answer is that they’re usually acronyms for something (often in another language, such as Greek), and they usually don’t like to tell people about what the phrase is. I think there may be some that make the information public, though. ---
**Author:** ![Daemon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Daemon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daemon)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frat-naming/67303/3 "2001-06-02T07:57:09Z")
“Your Delta Tau Chi name is ‘Flounder’.” “Why ‘Flounder’?” Braaaap, ‘Why not?’ Sounds as good as any reason I’ve ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frat-naming/67303/4 "2001-06-02T12:08:00Z")
I don’t know about fraternities, but honor society names are usually acronyms. Phi Beta Kappa stands for a Greek phrase that can be transliterated _philosophia bious kubernetes_ (“Philosophy is the guide to life”) Sigma Pi Sigma originally stood for “Scholarship Physics Society”, before that was merged with another group to form the “Society of Physics Students” (but I always thought it should be Sigma **Phi** Sigma) ---
**Author:** ![Homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frat-naming/67303/5 "2001-06-02T17:12:55Z")
Yes, as with most fraternities, our name stands for something, and that is revealed only to a fully initiated member. As is with the D Chis, the Sig Eps, the Betas, and so on. –Tim ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frat-naming/67303/6 "2001-06-02T17:19:59Z")
Then there was the science-fiction club I heard about, whose name was Psi Phi… Also, the majority of gay frats I’ve heard of have the letter lambda pasted in there; lambda used to be a gay symbol, like the rainbow. ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2001, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frat-naming/67303/7 "2001-06-03T02:52:07Z")
The math academic club at my high school was Mu Alpha Theta. FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2001, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frat-naming/67303/8 "2001-06-06T14:37:09Z")
> [@](#): > > lambda used to be a gay symbol, like the rainbow “Used to be”? Isn’t it still? The Future Farmers of America frat at UMd. was named Alpha Gamma Rho.