Names for soft drinks in the United States#Coke

According to writer Andrew Schloss, "soda" derives from sodium, a common mineral in natural springs, and was first used to describe carbonation in 1802.{{cite book |last=Schloss |first=Andrew |title=Homemade Soda |year=2011 |publisher=Storey Publishing |location=North Adams, MA |isbn=9781603427968 |oclc=681503206 |page=67}}File:Word "pop" used for carbonated beverage 1854.jpg The earliest known usage of "pop" is from 1812; in a letter to his wife, poet Robert Southey says the drink is "called pop because pop goes the cork when it is drawn, & pop you would go off too if you drank too much of it."{{cite web |url=https://www.rc.umd.edu/editions/southey_letters/Part_Four/HTML/letterEEd.26.2124.html |title=2124. Robert Southey to Edith Southey, 18 July 1812 |last1=Southey |first1=Robert |date=18 July 1812 |publication-date=August 2013 |website=Romantic Circles |publisher=University of Maryland |access-date=1 May 2016}}

The two words were later combined into "soda pop" in 1863. Schloss gives the following years as the first attestations of the various terms for these beverages:

"Soda" is most common in the northeastern states, California, Nevada, Arizona,{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Florida |title=Map of the Day: Soda vs. Pop vs. Coke |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-07-09/map-of-the-day-soda-vs-pop-vs-coke|website=Bloomberg |date=9 July 2012 |accessdate=12 May 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111205025/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-07-09/map-of-the-day-soda-vs-pop-vs-coke |archive-date= Nov 11, 2020 }} as well as Hawaii and a wide enclave or pocket around the Midwestern cities of St. Louis, Missouri, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To a lesser extent soda is also fairly common further down the east coast in eastern Virginia, eastern Carolinas and coastal Florida. Here, soda is not too dominant but competes with multiple other terms such as "coke". Unlike other regions, the coastal south-east has a relatively higher degree of variance between local individuals in terms of what they prefer to designate their soft drink.

The sharper "soda/pop" divide line runs through western Pennsylvania and western New York, approximately through the Rochester area. Those west of the line (e.g., in Pittsburgh and Buffalo) say "pop" while those east of the line (e.g. Syracuse) use "soda".

Image:Maxwell Prices 2005.JPG

"Pop" is most commonly associated with the Midwest and in most of the West, including the Mountain West and the Pacific Northwest. These include Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan, Kansas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Iowa, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Alaska.{{cite news |first=Whet |last=Moser |title=Pop vs Soda? I'll Show You Pop vs Soda |url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/September-2011/Pop-vs-Soda-Ill-Show-You-Pop-vs-Soda/ |newspaper=Chicago |date=9 September 2012 |accessdate=16 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715192101/http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/September-2011/Pop-vs-Soda-Ill-Show-You-Pop-vs-Soda/ |archive-date= Jul 15, 2015 }}

In the Southern United States, "coke" is used as a generic term for any type of soft drink—not just a Coca-Cola product or another cola. This terminology is also used in areas adjacent to the traditional southern states such as Southern Indiana and New Mexico. Several other locations have been found to use the generic "coke", such as Trinity County, California and White Pine County, Nevada,{{cite news |title=Soda vs Pop vs. Coke: Who Says What, And Where? |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/12/soda-vs-pop_n_2103764.html |newspaper=The Huffington Post |date=12 November 2012 |accessdate=16 April 2013}} although the small populations of these counties may skew survey results. A Twitter data scientist, however, found that while "soda" and "pop" dominate in the United States, the word "coke" (incl. "coca" or "cola") is by far the most common in other countries, including English-speaking ones.{{cite web |url=https://gizmodo.com/5924371/soda-versus-pop-visualized |title=Soda Versus Pop, Visualized |last=Condliffe |first=Jamie |date=9 July 2012 |publisher=Gizmodo |accessdate=5 May 2025 |archive-date=5 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105170333/https://gizmodo.com/5924371/soda-versus-pop-visualized }}

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• "Tonic" has been used in eastern Massachusetts and parts of Maine and New Hampshire since at least 1888.{{cite news |last=Baker |first=Billy |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/05/29/can-have-tonic-not-that-tonic/NjIT0fssTb7RHWrfkEuE0O/story.html |title=Can I have a tonic? No, not that tonic |work=The Boston Globe |date=30 May 2018 |access-date=2018-05-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180602004310/http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/05/29/can-have-tonic-not-that-tonic/NjIT0fssTb7RHWrfkEuE0O/story.html |archive-date= Jun 2, 2018 }} Its usage has been gradually declining in favor of "soda". In some areas, "tonic" is still understood to mean "soft drink", but many regard it as an antiquated term.{{cite web |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/03/24/boston-word-tonic-gives-way-soda/QpbSyMXlJvvESSVERxb6iP/story.html |title=In Boston, 'tonic' gives way to 'soda' |last1=Baker |first1=Billy |date=25 March 2012 |website=The Boston Globe |access-date=2 May 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160101130817/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/03/24/boston-word-tonic-gives-way-soda/QpbSyMXlJvvESSVERxb6iP/story.html |archive-date= Jan 1, 2016 }}

• "Soda pop" is used by some speakers, especially in the Mountain West. "Soda" or "drinks" is common in Idaho and Utah.
• "Drink", "cold drink", "carbo", and "soda" are locally common in southern Virginia and the Carolinas, spreading from there as far as Louisiana.
• "Soda water" or “sodiewater” is occasionally used in some rural parts of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
• "Soft drink", "cold drink", or "fountain drink" is the phrase of choice in New Orleans and most of east Texas as far west as the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex (although in the DFW Metroplex itself the usage is somewhat colloquial). It is also commonly used along with "soda" and/or "coke" in Eastern North Carolina.{{Cite web |last=Jacobs |first=Ashlyn |date=2020-09-27 |title=Slang in Different Regions of the U.S. |url=https://interversemedia.org/slang-in-different-regions-of-the-u-s/ |website=Interverse Media |language=en-US |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119031054/https://interversemedia.org/slang-in-different-regions-of-the-u-s/ |archive-date= Jan 19, 2024 }}
• "Refresco" is the term used in American Spanish, which literally translates to "Refreshment".

• List of soft drinks by country#United States

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• [http://www.popvssoda.com Pop vs. Soda, a web project tracking soft drink naming]

Category:Food and drink in the United States

Soft drinks