Sororities

The first society for women, the Adelphean Society (now Alpha Delta Pi) was established in 1851 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The Philomathean Society (later named Phi Mu) was founded at Wesleyan College a year later in 1852. The Adelphean Society and the Philomathean Society did not take on their modern Greek names (Alpha Delta Pi and Phi Mu, respectively) until 1904 when they expanded beyond the Wesleyan campus. 

In the mid-1800s women were beginning to be admitted to previously all-male universities, and there were many women who felt that it was in their best interest to band together. The first collegiate women formed women's fraternities in an effort to counteract the widespread opposition to their presence.

Kappa Alpha Theta founded on January 27, 1870 at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana as the first greek letter fraternity for women, and Kappa Kappa Gamma founded at Monmouth College, Illinois October 1870 as the second.

The term sorority had not yet been coined by Syracuse University professor Frank Smalley, so the earliest organizations were founded as "women's fraternities" or "fraternities for women." The first organization to adopt the word sorority was Gamma Phi Beta, established in 1874 at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. Alpha Phi was established in 1872, and along with Alpha Gamma Delta, the three sororities make up the Syracuse triad. This was when most Women's Greek organizations began to call their Greek organization a Sorority, before then they were all called Fraternities. Today, most Women's organizations starting up call themselves Sororities but it is nothing out of the ordinary for them to call themselves a Women's Fraternity.

Alpha Omicron Pi was founded on January 2, 1897 at Barnard College on the campus of Columbia University in New York. In 1913, at Hunter College, New York, Phi Sigma Sigma became the first non-denominational sorority (allowing any woman, regardless of race, religion, or economic background into membership).

Alpha Kappa Alpha, Lambda Theta Alpha, Alpha Pi Omega were founded as the first sororities by and for African-American, Latina-American, and Native American members respectively.