# Pop, Soda, or Coke?



## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

I was noticing the other day how people in different parts of the country call their pop by different names. I knew some people from Texas who called all pop 'Coke', regardless of the brand.  Around here (Oklahoma) we can it 'pop' or (occasionally) soda-pop'. 

How about you?


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## Cliff Ball (Apr 10, 2010)

I usually call it Coke, even when referring to Pepsi. Which annoys those people who work in the restaurants that only serve Pepsi, because they usually correct me, and I'm like "whatever."

My dad, who has lived in Ohio and Virginia calls it "pop" and my mom who was born here in Texas (but has Oklahoma relatives) calls it "soda pop."


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## Basil Sands (Aug 18, 2010)

In Alaska it's usually soda, but some call it pop or soda-pop.

I personally advocate a new name for it:  "FizzyNozeTickler"


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## john_a_karr (Jun 21, 2010)

Soda, but I'm trying to cut down. The chemicals can't be good and I don't like coffee. Tea helps.


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## Sarah Woodbury (Jan 30, 2011)

I grew up in Washington State and it was always 'pop'.  I didn't know it could be 'soda' until I visited my cousins in Boston.  In Pennsylvania where we lived for years it was 'soda' too.  In Jacksonville, FL, I called it 'pop' and got funny looks.

Back in Oregon, I've had to retrain from 'soda' to 'pop' and I still forget half the time.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I usually call it by name, but when I'm being broad I call it soda and I've lived my entire life in Virginia.  But you forgot Soft Drink


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## Ruby296 (Nov 1, 2008)

In central/eastern NY it's called soda. I don't drink any of it though-empty calories and tons of sugar.


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## caracara (May 23, 2010)

Coke.
Usually referring to Dr Pepper in my case.


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## Christine Kersey (Feb 13, 2011)

I grew up in the California Bay Area and used to call it a "soft drink". I don't know where that came from. But now I call it soda.


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## Tracy Falbe (Jul 4, 2010)

I grew up in Michigan. I always call it pop. I lived in California for a long time and there they call it soda, but I still called it pop.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Christine Kersey said:


> I grew up in the California Bay Area and used to call it a "soft drink". I don't know where that came from. But now I call it soda.


I grew up in Southern California with a Texan father, and a Californian mom, and we always called 'em soft-drinks too in generalities.


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## thejosh86 (Mar 1, 2011)

I usually either say coke or soda. I've been trying to wean myself off of calling soft drinks coke since it is a little confusing.


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## spotsmom (Jan 20, 2011)

I'm from North Carolina, and grew up calling everything "Coke".  Out in Oregon, it's called "pop" and it drives me nuts.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

In the big city, it's soda. Some places use "coke" for any cola, but i try to just say diet cola.



Ruby296 said:


> In central/eastern NY it's called soda. I don't drink any of it though-empty calories and tons of sugar.


When I lived in Central NY, it was a split between soda and pop. Western NY was mostly pop, with coke being the generic for cola.


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## Vianka Van Bokkem (Aug 26, 2010)

I call it soda my husband calls it pop  




-Vianka Van Bokkem


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Pop, which is from my MI roots but no one seems to look at me askance in MN. I also, as a completely me choice of phrase, say beverage a lot. I don't know why other than as a way to say I just want to wet my whistle and am not choosy about if it's pop, juice, water, beer...


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I grew up in the midwest (IL and OH) where it was "pop". (A "soda" was something you got at a soda fountain, where they squirted whatever flavor syrup in first, then added the carbonated water separately.) When I was moving out here to NJ, a student I knew from NJ warned me that it was "soda" here, and no one would know what I was talking about if I asked for "pop." She was right. That was back in '79. My brother moved back to the Chicago area maybe 10-12 years ago, and he tells me that at least in the metropolitan Chicago area they now recognize both "soda" and "pop".


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

I'm really bad about referring to soda as Coke.

My very first boss right out of college was a Coke addict but the local Pepsi distributor was a major client of his.  He changed out our break room machine to a Pepsi machine and hid in his office drinking Coke while the rest of us switched to water.

One day Mr. Pepsi's wife came in for an appointment.  We had been drilled to ask her if she would like a Pepsi when she arrived.  I was the lucky person to get her and I said...Mrs. Pepsi would you like a Coke?  I still can't believe I said it!


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## Melbre (Jan 9, 2011)

Grew up in Indiana and usually called it a Coke, or sometimes Pop.... 
We moved to Illinois (only 3 hours away) and it seems like everyone here calls it Soda... go figure


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## Holly A Hook (Sep 19, 2010)

Pop.  It's rarely called anything else where I live.


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## Pawz4me (Feb 14, 2009)

Here in my part of North Carolina most people say "soft drinks."

My aunt lives just over the Virginia line and they say "pop."


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

I've lived in northwest Missouri all of my life, and most of the people I know call it "pop." If I'm actually having a Coke (always Diet Coke), that's what I call it.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Here in SE Iowa, soda and pop are both used.  I'm in the soda camp, DH says pop, DD says pop, DS says soda...


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## gina1230 (Nov 29, 2009)

From Texas, and around here, we say Coke.


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## libbyfh (Feb 11, 2010)

I'm from the East Coast and we called it soda. But then I moved to the Midwest where we call it Pop. And when I go down south, they call it Coke, whether it's coke, pepsi, or Dr. Pepper. SOmetimes they call is Co-cola. 

Love it.


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## NapCat (retired) (Jan 17, 2011)

Born and raised on the u.S. East coast......soda of course !


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## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

It's either soda or coke


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## Tatiana (Aug 20, 2010)

Here in our area of VA it's soda.


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## Joel Arnold (May 3, 2010)

Here in MN, I grew up calling it pop.


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

We call it Soda in MA.


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## Patrick Skelton (Jan 7, 2011)

Everybody knows it's called POP!  LOL


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## coffeetx (Feb 12, 2011)

I grew up in DC area and we always called it "coke". As in "What kind of coke do you want?"....."I'll take a sprite".....To us "coke" meant soda.  When I moved away, people started calling me out on that.  I had to force myself to start saying "soda".  It sounded weird at first but now I'm used to it.  We also say "Kleenex" instead of "tissue" even though Kleenex is the brand


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

Growing up near Chicago, it was pop, or soft drinks. I noticed "soda" creeping in later, probably due to TV which is based in California. Now that I live in California I know soda is the only word and no one would recognize pop. I didn't know about places that called all such drinks "coke" until very recently.


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

I grew up in Tucson and remember hearing soft drink, soda, pop, and soda pop. I suspect that is because we have so many people come from other parts of the country, even if some are just here during the winter.  When I say Coke I mean the Coca Cola brand of cola and not Pepsi or Royal Crown cola.  I sometimes hear someone ask for a "diet" wthout following it with soda, pop, or soft drink. I am not sure if I say soda or soft drink more often. Most of the time I drink water or tea.


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## Marguerite (Jan 18, 2009)

I grew up in So. CA where we call it soda.  When we moved to Washington state my kids couldn't figure out what the waitress was saying.  They asked her what a pop was.


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

Annalog said:


> When I say Coke I mean the Coca Cola brand of cola and not Pepsi or Royal Crown cola.


I think that is probably why I call all soda, Coke. In my mind there is no other type soda. I usually just drink water but if I drink a soda it's going to be a Coke.


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## J Dean (Feb 9, 2009)

I call it "delicious."


And as a Michigander, pop.


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## busy_91 (Feb 22, 2011)

NYC we call it soda.


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## Keith Blenman (May 31, 2009)

Michigan again, and yes, we do say, "Pop." I've even seen other Michigander's take personal offense to hearing it otherwise.


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## JoeMitchell (Jun 6, 2010)

I grew up in NJ and PA, and it's always been Soda.  I heard soda and pop mentioned on TV and thought it was weird.  I thought people who called all soda 'Coke' were weird too, like someone referring to all cars as volvos, because I understood that Coke was just a brand of soda, and there were lots of other brands, all different.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I grew up in Michigan calling it 'Pop'  (and pronouncing it as a nasally 'paahp').  

After I moved to Texas, I hated any references to 'Coke' for non-coca cola beverages so I started saying 'Soda'.  I'm sure much of the rest of Texas still says 'Coke'.  But for many in Dallas it's 'Soda'.


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## Jamie Case (Feb 15, 2011)

I'm from NYC and it's soda. But I've heard people say soft drinks and some of my friends from Buffalo call it pop. My in-laws are from Washington State (Olympia) by way of Michigan and they call it soda as well. I think it varies from family to family.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Dara England said:


> I was noticing the other day how people in different parts of the country call their pop by different names. I knew some people from Texas who called all pop 'Coke', regardless of the brand. Around here (Oklahoma) we can it 'pop' or (occasionally) soda-pop'.
> 
> How about you?


I use all three terms, though "soda" is definitely least frequent. I use "Coke" quite often, probably because Coke is my favorite brand.


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

JoeMitchell said:


> I thought people who called all soda 'Coke' were weird


Thank you for confirming what I already knew. That I'm weird!


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## JoeMitchell (Jun 6, 2010)

Marty McFly: "Can I get a Pepsi Free?"
Soda-jerk: "You'll have to pay for it."


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## Shellybean (Apr 22, 2009)

All three. Mostly pop though.  I started out growing up in Kansas (pop) then moved to South Carolina (Coke) where I went to highschool and College (Go Cocks!!). Then moved back to Kansas then Oklahoma after marrying my husband from California (soda).  

I confuse myself. 

The kids all call it Pop.


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

It's pop around here (Canada).


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

JoeMitchell said:


> Marty McFly: "Can I get a Pepsi Free?"
> Soda-jerk: "You'll have to pay for it."


Marty: How about a Tab?
Soda-jerk: No, I'm not going to run a tab for you.


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Dara England said:


> I knew some people from Texas who called all pop 'Coke', regardless of the brand.


The same in Georgia, but transplanted Yankees often say "soda" or "pop." It's a dead giveaway, besides the fact that they talk funny.


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