Chapters of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia - Naming Conventions

Naming Conventions

Like those of many other Greek-letter fraternities, chapters of Phi Mu Alpha have names consisting of either one or two Greek letters. The names are issued in alphabetical order according to the dates on which the chapters are chartered. For instance, Alpha is the name given to the founding chapter, followed by Beta for the second chapter, then Gamma, and so on. Once the Greek alphabet had been exhausted by using single letters, two-letter names began to be issued, starting with Alpha Beta, then Alpha Gamma, then Alpha Delta, etc.

Names using the same two Greek letters, such as Alpha Alpha, Beta Beta, Gamma Gamma, etc., were not used. Also, in the first cycle of chapter naming, letters that came before the first letter of a chapter's name in the Greek alphabet were not used for the second letter. Thus, after Alpha Omega the next name issued was Beta Gamma, not Beta Alpha. Likewise, after Beta Omega, the next name issued was Gamma Delta; Gamma Alpha and Gamma Beta were not used. Using this system, 300 names could be generated, but due to the Fraternity's rapid expansion in the mid 20th century all of the possible names were exhausted in 1969. Beginning in that year (after the last name possible under the old system, Psi Omega, was issued), the Fraternity began to issue the unused two-letter names beginning with Beta Alpha. However, names with two identical Greek letters were still not used. Without using such repeated-letter names, there is a total of 576 possible one- and two-letter names, of which 439 have been issued to date. The only exception to the repeated-letter chapter name rule is Alpha Alpha. However, Alpha Alpha is not an actual collegiate chapter, but is instead the chapter designation used when initiating men as National Honorary members.

Colony names take one of two forms. If a chapter was previously chartered at an institution, then a colony that is later recognized at that institution is given the name of the chapter that was originally there. Upon the colony's successful completion of the Colony Program, the original chapter is reactivated and the original charter document (if it still exists) is reissued along with a separate Certificate of Reactivation. If there has never been a chapter at an institution, then a colony there is issued a name consisting of the state where the institution is located followed by a single Greek letter to distinguish it from any other colonies in the state. Upon the colony's successful completion of the Colony Program, a new chapter is installed and a charter with the next chapter name in sequence is issued.