Plural of “alumna”

The plural of alumna is alumnae.

Why

"Alumna" is the feminine form of Latin "alumnus," both derived from "alere," to nourish — an alumna or alumnus being, literally, someone "nourished" by their school. Latin first-declension feminine nouns like "alumna" pluralize by changing -a to -ae, giving "alumnae," distinct from the masculine "alumnus/alumni" pattern (-us to -i) despite both words sharing the same root.

English has preserved this gendered Latin pair more faithfully than most Latin borrowings, largely because women's colleges and single-sex institutions historically needed precise, distinct terms, and "alumnae" specifically remains the standard word for female graduates in institutional and formal writing even as many institutions now also use gender-neutral "alumni" or "alums" to refer to mixed or unspecified groups.

Usage note

Use "alumnae" specifically when referring to a group of women graduates, particularly in formal institutional contexts (a women's college's alumnae association); for mixed-gender groups, "alumni" is the traditional choice, though many institutions now prefer the casual, gender-neutral "alums" to sidestep the Latin gender distinction altogether.

Some institutions and style guides have moved away from the gendered Latin plurals entirely in recent years, citing both the awkwardness of maintaining a Latin grammatical gender system in modern English and the fact that it doesn't accommodate people outside the binary the Latin forms assume — a genuine, ongoing shift worth watching in institutional style guides. Several major American women's colleges maintain alumnae associations that are among the oldest and most active graduate networks in the country, some dating back over 150 years, and their official publications and bylaws still use "alumnae" consistently, treating the traditional Latin plural as part of the institution's identity rather than merely a grammatical formality.

Common real mistakes

Writers frequently confuse "alumnae" (plural, feminine) with "alumni" (plural, masculine or mixed) and "alumnus/alumna" (singular forms) — using "alumni" to describe a group of women specifically, in a context that calls for precision, is considered an error in traditional usage, though increasingly accepted in casual or gender-neutral writing.

The wider pattern

"Alumna/alumnae" pairs with "nebula/nebulae" as Latin first-declension feminine nouns that both pluralize with -ae, a pattern distinct from the masculine "-us/-i" pattern seen in "alumnus/alumni," "cactus/cacti," and "focus/foci" elsewhere in this Latin word family. Some institutions that were historically women's colleges but later became coeducational have had to navigate how to refer to their combined body of graduates, with some retaining "alumnae" specifically for graduates from the women's-college era and switching to "alumni" or "alums" for more recent, coeducational graduating classes.

Examples

• Several alumnae returned for the college's 50th reunion.
• The alumnae association raised funds for new scholarships this year.
• Two prominent alumnae were invited to speak at commencement.
• The school's alumnae magazine profiles graduates working in unusual fields.
• Dozens of alumnae contributed to the oral history project.
• The women's college tracks its alumnae's careers for decades after graduation.
• Alumnae from three different decades attended the same panel discussion.
• The mentorship program pairs current students with successful alumnae.
• Her mother and grandmother were both alumnae of the same institution.
• The alumnae network helped her find her first job after graduation.
• The alumnae association hosts an annual gathering every spring.
• Two distinguished alumnae funded the new science building.
• Records show alumnae from the class of 1962 still meet regularly.
• The college tracks career outcomes for its alumnae over several decades.
• The college's alumnae from before 1970 formed their own dedicated chapter.
• Several distinguished alumnae returned to campus for the anniversary celebration.
• The scholarship fund was established entirely by grateful alumnae.
• Two alumnae co-authored a memoir about their shared college years.
• Both alumnae were later inducted into the school's hall of fame.
• The reunion drew alumnae from every decade since the school opened.