The use of the "pop" and "soda" to label carbonated soft drinks began in the 1800s. By the 1840s, carbonated water was being served at drug stores and pharmacy counters. The word "Pop" first appeared almost a century later with the introduction of a ginger flavored beverage, "ginger pop". "Soda pop" was especially used in mainstream slang in the 1920s. Coca-Cola was introduced in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1887 and was known by its nickname "Coke" by 1909. Southern dominance in using this term has been attributed to the location of its origin and distributor.

The trickier question is why some regions chose pop and others soda for their choice (there are other, less common terms which will be left out for brevity). UW Stout's Heidi Sleep and Katie Theil's research in "A Linguistic Study: “Soda” and “Pop” in Wisconsin and Minnesota," found that this was determined by population movement of certain groups. As slang within a group is often similar, one term would have simply been overcome by another. For example, Minnesota will be more likely to use "pop" while Wisconsin will use "soda."