Soda vs. Pop

There seems to be a regional difference about whether someone would say soda or pop. What do you call it?

Being from New England my mother calls it "Tonic".

But us kids call it soda.

To me, pop is anything like Coke, Pepsi, 7-up. But when we say soda, it's referring to soda water/club soda which you would mix with fruit juice (as example)

Originally Posted by Russian Blue

To me, pop is anything like Coke, Pepsi, 7-up. But when we say soda, it's referring to soda water/club soda which you would mix with fruit juice (as example)

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Ditto! But I believe that is a Canadian thing.

I grew up calling it "pop", being from Minnesota. When I moved out east, I switched to "soda". Now when I go home to Minneapolis, I call it "pop", but when I'm home in NYC I call it "soda".

I heard that down south, people call all soda or pop "coke".

I was born in Texas, grew up in NJ and NYC, it was always soda to me, sometimes soda pop, but always soda .

This breaks it down to counties. Notice that you can have a county that primarily says pop right next to one that says soda or coke. I live in a county where most people say coke.. but I don't drink coke. The county this town borders (literally within a couple miles) says pop - which is what I hear people say here unless they specify what they want or are older. Both parents are from north midwest states, too.

Wait I'm from the Southeast which category do I fit into? Oh yea, and here all cola type sodas are "Coke". But I guess I'll go with "soda" for the sake of argument as I do occasionally use that when I'm not referring to a cola.

We say pop

Always soda, no matter where I lived - NJ, NC, and SC.

I can't really vote as I was born and raised in Maryland where we always used "soda" but since I married and moved to Minnesota I have learned to catch myself and call it "pop" because that's what everyone calls it around here!

I don't really drink the stuff anyway - only on rare occasions.

Manitoba, Canada

I don't usually say either of those terms. But when I do it's "Soda". Usually when I want something to drink I say the name of the beverage IE: Diet Coke.

I can't really vote since I use both. Depends on my mood. I also say soda pop too. LOL

When I was a kid we called it pop. Then later in life after a move it was called Coke, no matter what it was. I like calling it soda.

Originally Posted by Russian Blue

To me, pop is anything like Coke, Pepsi, 7-up. But when we say soda, it's referring to soda water/club soda which you would mix with fruit juice (as example)

Click to expand...

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Ditto! But I believe that is a Canadian thing.

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Nope, not just Canadian. I grew up in the burbs of Chicago, and that was the standard there.

I've lived out East long enough I usually refer to carbonated drinks as "soda" now, but I definitely find myself saying "soda pop."

Soda in the area of NC where I live. In a restaurant I generally say I want a "Coke", and if the waiter asks if Pepsi is alright, it's even better.

Neither. I usually just say Pepsi, Coke, Dr. Pepper, etc. Sometimes I just say I want a "drink".

I call it pop & I live in Minnesota. Soda just sounds weird

Actually, I've been giving this more thought. I don't even say "Soda".

When I want a fizzy drink I say "soft drink" or just use the name of the soft drink....IE: Diet Coke, Sprite etc.

So I use the term "Soft Drink", not soda or pop or soda pop.