# Do you call it pop, soda or coke? A county-by-county map **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 10, 2006, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119 "2006-08-10T04:33:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/1 "2006-08-10T04:33:24Z")
[http://www.popvssoda.com/countystats/total-county.html](http://www.popvssoda.com/countystats/total-county.html) Very interesting. The regional differences are certainly obvious. Of course, all right-thinking people KNOW that it’s pop, dammit! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/2 "2006-08-10T04:44:20Z")
It is called Soda in NJ or even Sodar up North and in NYC. Occasionally I hear any Cola referred to as a coke. Saying Pop here will usually get a question: “where are you from?” I noticed drilling down that Monmouth County had 302 responses 1 pop, 11 cokes, 283 soda & 7 others. Jim ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/3 "2006-08-10T04:48:56Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Of course, all right-thinking people KNOW that it’s pop, dammit! 😃 [/QUOTE] YES! For if that were not the case, how would this classic piece of literature have come into being? Song of the Pop-Bottlers Pop bottles pop-bottles in pop shops. The pop-bottles Pop bottles Poor Pop drops. When Pop drops pop-bottles Pop-bottles plop! Pop-bottle-tops topple! Pop mops slop! Stop! Pop’ll drop bottle! Stop, Pop stop! When Pop bottles pop-bottles, Pop-bottles pop! ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/4 "2006-08-10T04:51:59Z")
Weird. I grew up in New Brunswick (by Maine) and we always called it “pop”. Yet all of New England seems to call it soda. I moved here to Washington state, and most people I speak to call it soda, and give me funny looks when I call it pop. Yet the data shows “pop” is most popular. Of course, here in Seattle, you could order a pop, you could order a soda, but you’ll still end up with a latte. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/5 "2006-08-10T05:08:42Z")
“Coke” as a synonym for sodiepop is a southernism. That there is a map of isoglosses. “Greasy”/“Greazy” is another one. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/6 "2006-08-10T07:00:18Z")
[QUOTE=Anastasaeon] Weird. I grew up in New Brunswick (by Maine) and we always called it “pop”. Yet all of New England seems to call it soda. I moved here to Washington state, and most people I speak to call it soda, and give me funny looks when I call it pop. Yet the data shows “pop” is most popular. Of course, here in Seattle, you could order a pop, you could order a soda, but you’ll still end up with a latte. 😛 [/QUOTE] I grew up in Boston, and was always told everyone in the northeast called it “tonic”, a term I never once heard colloquially applied to the object in question. Everyone I knew called it “soda”. I hope this map goes a long way to destroying the hoary meme. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/7 "2006-08-10T07:09:48Z")
The map’s got us pegged here. It’s always a Coke. Even when it’s not 😉 . ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/8 "2006-08-10T07:26:08Z")
So there isn’t a red state vs. blue state dichotomy, it’s a trichotomy! The less populous states have somewhat inaccuracte coloration. Alaska looks like someone vomited on it because most counties only have a few respondants and the colors pick the largest amount. And the yellow states are clearly correct ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/9 "2006-08-10T10:39:21Z")
I somehow came back from my three-year exile in the upper Midwest calling it “pop,” which I still do, 20 years later. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/10 "2006-08-10T11:42:27Z")
Like a lot of regionalisms, I think this is fading away. Just a WAG, but I would say that the use of “soda” or “pop” or whatever has it’s roots in a time when drinking a soda/pop/Coke was a treat, and people actually went down to the soda fountain or general store and had a drink and socialized, etc. I would also venture that nowdays, most people are always within a couple of blocks of a source of soda/pop/Coke, so the novelty has worn off. Seems like it’s more common these days to say “drink” or “something to drink” when referring to wanting a drink in general, then refer to the specific drink when ordering or if they know what they want, i.e. Coke, Pepsi, Diet Coke, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, water, Gatorade, etc. FWIW, the county I grew up in says “Coke” unanimously; where I live now, it’s about 2:1 Soda to Coke, with only a smattering of Pop or Other… ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/11 "2006-08-10T11:54:56Z")
Using “coke” as the generic name for a soft drink makes about as much sense as using “chevy” as a generic name for a car. “Did you see my new chevy? It’s a Mustang!” Seriously, when southerners want a Coca-Cola, do they ask for a “coke coke”? ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/12 "2006-08-10T12:03:01Z")
**BobLibDem** , where I grew up, Coca-Cola is the default “coke.” Most people here will call soda a coke or a soft drink. I don’t know if soft drink is a more Southern thing to say, but I hear that way more often than soda or pop. ---
**Author:** ![MizGrand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@MizGrand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizGrand)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/13 "2006-08-10T12:05:54Z")
I was just thinking about this last night. I observed my newly purchased 12-pack of lemon-lime carbonated beverage and noticed that on the box it says “Lemon-Lime Flavored **Soda** ”. So, y’all who call it “pop” are now officially _wrong_! ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/14 "2006-08-10T12:12:34Z")
[QUOTE=burundi] **BobLibDem** , where I grew up, Coca-Cola is the default “coke.” Most people here will call soda a coke or a soft drink. I don’t know if soft drink is a more Southern thing to say, but I hear that way more often than soda or pop. [/QUOTE] I’ve watched (heard?) it change over my lifetime. Nowadays when a cola is being offered, the question is more likely going to be “Coke or Pepsi?” as if that’s all you have to decide, or that’s all the establishment offers as variety. Some places will only have one and when it’s Pepsi, that’s what you better ask for, or else they’ll say “we only have Pepsi.” In older times, it wasn’t just “coke” but “co-cola” as in “Pepsi co-cola” or “RC co-cola” or whatever offbrand substitute you could find. Double Cola was another you could find in some places. Dave Gardner (Brother Dave) used to have in one of his bits how the kid was drinking an R-O-C Co-cola and eating on a Moon Pie. There’s even an old C&W song about “an RC Cola and a Moon Pie and the maple on the hill.” Being as Coca Cola was invented in Atlanta, the rest of y’all are just borrowing it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/15 "2006-08-10T12:16:41Z")
[QUOTE=BobLibDem] Using “coke” as the generic name for a soft drink makes about as much sense as using “chevy” as a generic name for a car. “Did you see my new chevy? It’s a Mustang!” Seriously, when southerners want a Coca-Cola, do they ask for a “coke coke”? [/QUOTE] No. Do you ask for a “Coke Pop”? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/16 "2006-08-10T12:23:37Z")
I call it soda. From both where I live (York) and where I grew up (Lehigh), the map was pretty much spot on. My cousins, who live much farther west in PA (Clearfield) called it pop and again, the map was spot on. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/17 "2006-08-10T12:25:05Z")
I call Coke ‘Coke’. Dr. Pepper or Mr. Pibb are ‘Dr. Pepper’ or ‘Mr. Pibb.’ I call carbonated beverages ‘drinks’. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/18 "2006-08-10T12:30:29Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] I call carbonated beverages ‘drinks’. [/QUOTE] Around here, as often as not, they’re co-dranks. Soft drinks occasionally. After seeing _Pulp Fiction_ most people opt for “tasty beverage.” Even Letterman says that. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/19 "2006-08-10T12:31:01Z")
I’ve lived most of my life in soda country (Baltimore) and now live in pop country (Southern Ohio). Pop still sounds a little weird to me after six years here. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119/20 "2006-08-10T12:36:09Z")
[QUOTE=Anastasaeon] Weird. I grew up in New Brunswick (by Maine) and we always called it “pop”. Yet all of New England seems to call it soda. [/QUOTE] Heh. Probably a Canadian thing, or at least a maritime thing. I’ve always heard it called pop. I’ve only heard soda used on TV or in books. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-pop-soda-or-coke-a-county-by-county-map/368119.md?page=2)