My AP US History teacher and the class randomly got off topic and into a discussion about how you can tell where someone is from by asking them what kind of drink they want. She said that they used to be able to tell by using the words “pop” or “soda” but now, more and more people are using the word “coke” for everything instead of for Coca-Cola.
What do you call it? A coke, a pop, or a soda?
*I apologize if I used the word “pop” incorrectly. I have never heard it used."
I thought only people in Michigan called it ‘Pop’
Everywhere else its a soda. 
soda here in CT.
Down here, regardless of brand, it’s a Coke. Specific brands are only used when there’s a choice to be made (e.g. Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi, Cherry Coke).
My wife and kids say the same thing, and it drives me crazy.
For example, I would besitting outside on the back porch, drinking a Dr. Pepper:
kid: Daddy… can I have a drink of your Coke?
me: no
kid: (whining) oh… c’mon… I’ve been good today!
me: I don’t have a Coke
kid: yes you do… it’s right there! (points to Dr. Pepper)
me: no, that’s a Dr. Pepper
kid: ugh… ok, can I have a drink of your Dr. Pepper?
me: sure!!
Kid drinks enough to leave me the spit at the bottom, smiles, and skips away.
The joys of being a dad.
I call it a pop.
Andy
Wow… that explains alot. My wife grew up in a “red” county, and I grew up in a “blue” county. She is from the red county in Indiana which is the northernmost county in the US to call it a Coke.
Thanks, Joe!!
Andy
I think the official FIRST answer to this question is…
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wait for it
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Mountain Dew.
ps Whatever happened to sodapop?
Thats what you call it if you are a child who moves from a “pop” area to a “soda” area in your early years! Or if you are located on one of those border areas on that great map Joe found! I actually grew up with soda-pop, fulfilling both of the above scenarios! Now I just call it soda, unless I slip up, much to my children’s embarassment!
In the hot summers of St Louis, I used to come blasting through the door to the cool of the screened-in porch looking for an ice cold sodie pop at my grampa’s house. The sodie pop was either a Nehi grape or a Nehi orange. Still is.
Definitely always been soda here.
In fact, according to that map, the entire STATE says soda. =)
I used to say “soft drink” for everything, but now I always say that I want a Coke, even though it’s usually a Dr. Pepper.
The word “coke” meaning all sodas actually has a funny story too it. A while back, the USPTO started threatening that Coca-Cola could to lose their trademark on the word “coke”. It turned out that in most places when you ordered “coke”, you would get Pepsi or Coke or whatever brand that place happened to have. Since the word was passing into the common usage, Coke would lose their trademark. Similar to what happened to Xerox, Scotch, and Jet-Ski. Coke mounted a huge campaign against this. If they got wind of a restaurant doing this, they would threaten to sue, and would write very threatening letters. This campaign was very successful. That’s why now you should always get the “Pepsi okay?” whenever you order a coke and all they have is Pepsi.
I order “coke” because I want Coke. If they ask “is Pepsi ok” I reply “No thanks, I’ll just have water”
COKE RULES
Soda is the proper term. Coke is an overpowering disgusting brand of soda. Pepsi is teh roxors!
According to the equation of awesomeness,
(Coke = M$ = Zip Tie) ? (Pepsi = Apple = Bar-Lok)
(Coke = M$ = Zip Tie) < (Pepsi = Apple = Bar-Lok)
I think that ‘I would like some Pepsi’ should be a choice. It is definatley the supirior choice.
Speak for yourself!! It’s pop in Northeast Ohio and most likely Northwestern PA. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
Referring to the map - I’d like to know what the “green areas” of “Other” call it. There’s some big ol’ blobs o’ green in New Mexico.
You’re missing one.
Soder.
Come to New England and you’ll hear what I’m talking about. 
As a kid, growing up in Baltimore, I used to call it soda-pop (well, my actual pronunciation was “doda-pop” but then, I was very young and had troubles with my "s"s) but now I say soda at home and if I’m at a restaurant, I order a “cola” (well actually clarified that as “A cola, please, coke or pepsi, whichever one you have” because I got tired of hearing “we have coke(pepsi) is that okay?”).
Heidi
Always been pop for me. I didn’t even know that the word “soda” was so widely used until I moved down to Illinois for a little while, I had always thought it was some old fashioned british term shrug