# What's more popular American usage: 'prom' or 'the prom'?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-popular-american-usage-prom-or-the-prom/492875
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [April 12, 2009, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-popular-american-usage-prom-or-the-prom/492875 "2009-04-12T19:42:28Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-popular-american-usage-prom-or-the-prom/492875/21 "2009-04-13T15:29:58Z")
I said “The Prom” when I graduated in 1981. My 18 year old nephew and all the college students I work with refer to it as just plain “Prom”, which makes me want to give them a pinch.
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### Author:  [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-popular-american-usage-prom-or-the-prom/492875/22 "2009-04-13T16:23:27Z")
We went “to prom.” I’m from Western Kansas, and graduated HS in 1986.
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### Author:  [@wunderkammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wunderkammer)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-popular-american-usage-prom-or-the-prom/492875/23 "2009-04-13T17:53:07Z")
We also went to prom, to Homecoming, to Winter Formal, and to graduation. There’s nice parallelism in our set of Very Important Events.
(Southeast Wisconsin, class of '07)
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-popular-american-usage-prom-or-the-prom/492875/24 "2009-04-13T17:58:41Z")
Both are perfectly acceptable. SW Ohio mid-1980s.
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### Author:  [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-popular-american-usage-prom-or-the-prom/492875/25 "2009-04-13T22:31:18Z")
Man, the disparity is amazing, isn’t it? I can’t quite get a handle on whether it’s generational or geographical, or both / neither.
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#):
>
> Just for reference, that bellweather of teen culture, **Twilight** by Stephenie Meyer, uses “the prom”.
AHA! This is _extreeeeeemely_ helpful, **Justin\_Bailey** , more than you can imagine! Because the book/story I’m editing is actually something of an [del]attempt to capitalize off of[/del] homage to the _Twilight_ books. So knowing that these books use “the prom” gives me a good defense for wanting to make the change. 😃
Thanks to everyone who’s answered so far!
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### Author:  [@wunderkammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wunderkammer)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-popular-american-usage-prom-or-the-prom/492875/26 "2009-04-14T05:21:45Z")
> [@choie](#):
>
> Man, the disparity is amazing, isn’t it? I can’t quite get a handle on whether it’s generational or geographical, or both / neither.
I’ll put in a small, purely anecdotal vote for generational; my mom went to the same high school as I did, and she always referred to “the prom”.
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