During the spring and summer of 1919, clubs were organized in Buffalo, Rochester, Binghamton, Elmira, and Syracuse, New York, USA. Under the leadership of its Charter President, Marian de Forest, a playwright and newspaper critic, the Buffalo club established specific guidelines for membership and classification.

The Confederation of Zonta Clubs was founded on 8 November 1919 in Buffalo. Mary E. Jenkins, newspaper publisher and civic leader, was elected the first president of the Confederation. Bylaws and a constitution were drafted and adopted, and all that was left was to choose a name.

Zonta's Name

Each club submitted a list of appropriate names. The final vote was almost unanimously in favor of the Binghamton club's suggestion of "Zhonta" as it was then spelled. A letter from the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. USA corrected the spelling to Zonta: "the word in question is from the Teton dialect of the Siouan stock of native American languages. The word signifies 'honest and trustworthy'." The name "Zonta International" was officially adopted at the 1930 Convention in Seattle, Washington, USA, and in September of that year Zonta was incorporated under that name in the state of Illinois, USA. The following year, the word "Zonta" was registered with the Trademark Division of the United States government in Washington, D.C.

April of 1920 saw the first executive session of the Confederation's officers convene in Rochester, New York. Among the considerable business conducted, the Zonta colors-- mahogany and gold--were chosen, and the Zonta emblem, designed by Buffalo Zontian and artist Helen Fuchs Gundlach, was officially authorized. In October 1920, the presidents of all existing clubs met in Syracuse, New York, USA. Two important recommendations came out of the meeting: that the Zonta clubs take for their specific aim education and constructive work for girls and young women and that the Confederation's first convention be held in Syracuse in May of 1921.

The Confederation was incorporated under the laws of New York State in February 1922. Five years later, the Zonta Club of Niagara Falls which was composed of members from Canada and the United States organized Toronto as the first club in Canada, and Zonta became international. In 1931, Zonta was introduced to Europe when clubs in Vienna, Austria and Hamburg, Germany were organized. For the next decade, growth continued steadily in Europe and Scandinavia. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Zonta established itself in Latin America and Asia. By 1970, Zonta became truly worldwide when six African nations joined the organization. The last frontier was crossed in early 1991 when Szombathely, Hungary became the first Eastern European Zonta country.