I always used the term “purse” until recently, and now I use “bag” because, to me, a tote bag is not a purse. Bag is a more encompassing term. I am a native Californian. I have observed that my East Coast friends tend to call them handbags. One exception is Bostonians, who say “pocketbook.”

I do think the term purse is disappearing from American English.

Nebraska: I would say most of us say purse. Bag is definitely in the minority, and handbag not too common. There’s also a regional thing about the words “sack” and “bag” when referring to “paper or plastic” things. I’m not sure which rules here, but I know that others comment on the bag v. sack thing. I’m kind of in the “sack” camp. But there are some places where sack rules and others where bag rules. I think it kind of follows the soda vs. pop geography.

I’m in Houston. My friends and I say ‘purse’. Never really used handbag.

What a funny word: purse. Yes that is what my mother used for handbag and I do too. Perhaps because it is a shorter word.
But my grandmother who owned the millinery and glove departments of a fine ladies store in San Antonio, TX always called it her handbag.

I use both! I have a wallet (keeps cash, credit cards, etc) in my purse or handbag. I use purse and handbag sort of interchangeably, however, usually it’s my mom or grandma who uses a purse (or a pocketbook), whereas, I carry or wear a handbag. Aren’t word origins/usage fun?

I’m in PA, grew up in the Wash DC area. I have always used the word purse. My grandmother uses both. I use the word wallet, she calls it a billfold.

I grew up with Pocketbook people in CT. But we lived right on the dividing line between Yankees and Red Sox country. Now I tend to call everything that holds stuff other than cards or money a bag. The cards and money holders are call wallets

I grew up in Florida, and I usually use the word “purse” or “bag”. It’s not unheard of to hear someone say handbag, but I don’t generally use it.

I echo Lisette’s comments, right down to the use of the term “pocketbook” in CT, where I grew up. Now I say “bag,” but not “handbag” or “purse.”

Here in the Heartland I grew up with “purse” for handbag and “billfold” for wallet. There was also such a thing as a “coin purse”, a small purse that was carried in your purse just for coins. When I went away to college my roommate was from New Jersey and made fun of Midwest twang and word choices. She called a handbag a “bag”. She also called a “sack” a bag, which was confusing.

Washington (state) native/Austin, TX transplant: I say bag. I think the last time I said purse was when I was under 12. My grandmother (Canadian born, lives in the Bay Area, CA) says purse. I think everyone else in my family says bag.
I grew up reading English Lit vs. American Lit and a purse was amost always in reference to a small pouch used to hold coins, ie: coin purse.

I never liked the words pocketbook (which always comes out as “pockabook”), handbag, or purse. I just use plain old “bag.” My bags are too hardcore and utilitarian to be a sissy little purse. Handbag is okay except I’m not sure what the “hand” is meant to indicate. I carry my bag in the crook of my elbow or on my shoulder. Maybe I should start calling them elbowbags.

Note that I never actually put that much thought into this until now, but I do notice that, in general, I tend to go for the simplest word that gets the job done.

California. A bag is the pretty object over my shoulder. A wallet is the thing that holds the money that buys the pretty objects. The wallet goes inside the bag. Language is funny.

My mother, who lives in the South, calls the bag a purse, and the wallet the wallet.

My grandmothers always carried coin purses for their loose change, and their bags were called purses, pocketbooks or handbags. Never bags.

Another odd thing is that I usually call a grocery bag or similar type shopping bag from a store a “bag”. Someone recently said to me “No, those are not bags, they are sacks!” Ooookay…

I’m from Minnesota. I use ‘purse’ and ‘handbag’ or just ‘bag’ interchangably. However, there are certain types that are just ‘purses’ or just ‘bags’. For example, I might say “clutch-purse” or “coin-purse”, and “tote-bag” or “messenger-bag”. A backpack or sachel would also be refered to as a ‘bag’. And it’s always “wallet”.

Fun to know about other places!

I grew up in Michigan/Ohio, and have lived in Kansas/Missouri for the past 6 years. I never heard ‘handbag’ growing up, and never hear it here either. It’s always been ‘a wallet in our purse’. The only time I hear ‘bag’ is when someone’s referring to, well, a bag (as in, too large to be considered a purse)!

Ha! Yet another example of Brit/American oddities! Pants vs trousers, fanny bag vs bum bag, etc… glad to see that some of “our” words are finally sticking with you guys!
Kate (Oxford, UK)

In the midwest it was a purse, but now that I’m in New England its a pocketbook. I’m sticking with purse and I agree with Jill that there are many different types of purses and bags that I might refer to.

I’m Canadian, and usually Canadian English follows British usage patterns, but not in this instance, I guess. I’m pretty sure my Mum and Grandma both use purse for their bags, and my sister and I both use handbag, or simply bag. Everyone I know says wallet for the thing that holds your money. It seems to be a generational thing, as well as regional. Having said that, I will call a bag a purse if it’s particularly ladylike in design- a Birkin is a purse to me.

Forgot to add that I love the term pocketbook, because it really confuses me and makes me laugh. I think this is a particularly American thing; I hadn’t even heard of it until my best friend moved to the States. She told me one day that someone at her work complimented her “pocketbook”. We were both really confused.

English is not my native language, and I use both terms interchangeably. I prefer “handbag” and “wallet” over “purse”. Weirdly, I tend to associate “purse” with Medieval Europe – I always picture a pouch of some sort.

Like Maya, I dislike the word “pocketbook”.

I’m with Ele. I hear both “bag” & “purse” interchangeably, but seldom use purse myself, because I picture my Mom’s 20 lb. Mom-purse, enormous beige bags of mystery. I carry a messenger-style bag or backpack most of the time, & save purse for when I’m carrying one of my smaller evening bags. I mean small; most of mine won’t hold cell, PDA & wallet! I need to upgrade, but I hate big clunky purses.

Whoops, and I’m from Ontario, Canada. And I’m laughing pretty hard at hitherto unrecognized Mom-purse resentment!

Hee hee. I have a friend here in MN who once scolded me for using the word “purse.” She said, “Old ladies carry purses. That’s a handbag.” But I still slip up sometimes!

I generally just say “bag”, that or “purse”. I almost never hear “handbag” from people my age (~19); however the word “handbag” doesn’t really fit my purse, as it’s more of a small messenger bag.

Ontario, Canada
The thing I put my money in is a wallet, but a small thing I put coins in is a coin purse. My mother used to use a billfold, which held only paper money (bills), not cards or coins. A bag to me is a general term which could be a shopping bag, purse, paper bag, you name it. I put my wallet/other misc. stuff in a purse or tote. To me a purse is a handbag of any size, nicer fabric or leather, and a tote tote is a casual, large-ish handbag, probably canvas, and has two handles, for the beach or wherever. To my boyfriend, a Tote is a large plastic bin with a lid (tupperware/rubbermaid or similar).

I grew up in India where British English is prevalent. With some regional modifications of course. So wallets (for men and women) and handbags were both called purses!

I, however, have gotten around to calling them handbags and wallets after having lived here long enough

I say “purse.” I’m from the East Coast but live in the Midwest; among my closest friends here–mid-20’s, hailing mainly from the West Coast and South–this seems to be the norm. My mom, who is from the South but has also spent many years in New England, says “pocketbook.” She also says “billfold” instead of “wallet.”

Vani, My experience growing up in India was to call both the small coin-purses and the hand-held checkbook type wallets purses and handbags handbags. Plastic bags that the grocers or clothes stores gave out were called ‘covers’! Backpacks for school were called rucksacks.

I grew up in MD. My mom used ‘purse’ and ‘wallet,’ sometimes ‘billfold.’ I hate the sound of the word purse… just a personal thing. I usually say ‘bag’ or ‘handbag.’ I’d say I most often hear them referred to as a purse, except by the really fashionable people I know.

I’m from Ca but have been in WA state for a long time. In my family all generations say purse and wallet. I use the word bag here on the forum because I think it is a more prevalent word here. Several times I have began typing the word purse but changed it to bag.

i say “purse,” “handbag” to me sounds so… old and proper. although if it’s a really big purse, it becomes a “bag.”

I’m originally from Vancouver, BC, lived in CA for 17 years and just moved to WA a few months ago. Everyone I know says “purse” for the bag-like item you carry around and “wallet” for the smaller money-toting item. I think this is pretty standard for the west coast area in general.

Although, when I am looking online for a purse, I look in the “handbag” department.

“pocketbook” cracks me up…its not a book and I can’t think of anyone that can fit it into their pocket!

I’m in California, Northern/San Francisco Bay Area to be exact, but I have noticed a trend in people saying ‘purse’ more than ‘handbag.’ I just say ‘bag’ for short, but I haven’t really heard the term purse in a very long time.

Wait sorry, people saying “handbag” MORE than “purse.”*

I generally say bad or handbag. I have a fashionista-friend that likes to say, “You purse your lips and carry a handbag.”

Ack! I meant I say BAG. It’s all good!

Born and raised in California – it’s a purse to us

Born and raised in CA as well and I never say handbag and rarely purse – I just carry a bag. If I am dressing up my small shiny bag is sometimes a purse, if I am carrying my normal bag (more in the tote/messenger vein) I will sometimes put a coin/change purse in it but usually just a wallet.

Can’t remember the last time I’ve heard it called a handbag – here in Nevada I hear purse a lot more. I still stick with bag. Even if it’s canvas and I’m at the grocery store, I assume they won’t try and put groceries in my purse just because I call it a bag too…

I think most of us in California still say purse. I tend to say handbag, but it’s really only because I dislike the word purse — I think it sounds boring and dumpy, whereas handbag sounds more chic. I prefer trousers over pants and waistcoat over vest for the same reason. Maybe I just have a thing for 2-syllable words.

I am in California and I hear purse, bag, and handbag all fairly equally. Handbags are small-ish. Purses can be small to medium large. Bags can be any size but usually medium to large. I grew up in Ohio and I usually say purse or bag unless the article is particularly small (ie a clutch) when I will say handbag. Also if a bag is very expensive I will call it a handbag.

I’m canadian and anyone here pretty much uses ‘wallet’. ‘Purse’ and ‘bag’ are fairly interchangeable (older generations use ‘purse’ more, I think, and younger use ‘bag’). I rarely hear ‘handbag’ unless someone is specifically describing a bag, like telling a friend about one they bought, and that bag is only held in the hand/cannot be worn over the shoulder.

Purse all the way.

I didn’t even start carrying a ‘purse’ until I was single & working and even then it truly was a wallet on a string via Coach.

Purse is the easiest thing for me to call it when I call to my children, “get my purse!!”. If I said, “get my bag” they’d be totally confused.

I always used to use the word “purse” to talk about a handbag, but since Brendan is from England, he uses “handbag.” I just picked up on it from him, since it made more sense to call all bags, “handbags.” A “purse” to me is really only a smaller handbag, whereas “handbag” could refer to anything up to and including a tote bag.

I am in California as well. We use “purse” primarily instead of “handbag”, and “wallet” for the object that holds the money/cards.
I have worked in department stores on West Coast for nearly 25 yrs and we always have “handbag” departments.

This solves a mystery for me! My British husband often refers to my wallet as a purse, and it annoys me to no end cause I always think he’s referring to my handbag. I always correct him and then he goes and uses it again and confuses me! All this time I thought he was confused and didn’t know any better. Just yesterday I discovered that when he called a flashlight a “torch” that wasn’t a cute wordplay he came up with, it also is a British term. ARGH. No wonder I could barely understand him for the first two months we were dating (together now for over 3 yrs.)

I never knew this! I can’t wait to share this with a couple girlfriends who endlessly tease me about the time I was rifling through my “purse” (American English) looking for my “purse,” a very cute little coin holder shaped like a framed handbag. We happened to be in Scotland, so perhaps the saleslady did not think I was crazy after all!

Australian English usually follows British english so I definitely go or “handbag” which we tend to actually pronounce as “hambag”. Men always have wallets. Women may call theirs wallets if they are the same type, but often call them purses and would always call the ones for coins purses. For large bags I would tend to go for ‘bag”. We never use “pocketbook” or “tote”.

Also in California. Purse is certainly not uncommon, especially when referring to smaller bags, and I’ve used it myself, but my friends and I primarily use the term “bag.” A wallet is a wallet. I’ve never heard the term handbag used by anyone but a sales associate.

I grew up in Asia and was taught to understand “purse” in the British way as a wallet. Handbags were handbags, or just bags. Only when we moved to the US did I, after some confusion, start calling handbags purses or pocketbooks. The word “pocketbook” caused me more confusion than “purse” because handbags and wallets are at least related in function. When I was a child I always understood “pocketbook” to mean a paperback book or notebook of small size. Hearing American women referring to their “pocketbooks” whenever they were going to pay for something was quite startling.

I live in western Canada, and use ‘purse’ fairly commonly, but started using ‘bag’ when I got older and was able to buy some higher-end items.

I grew up in California and have used “purse” and “bag.” I don’t think I’d call a small item used in the evening a “bag,” and I wouldn’t call a very large tote a “purse.” I probably use “bag” more, but I hear both terms a lot. Rarely “handbag.” My grandmother (Ukraine briefly to Boston to NYC) usually said pocketbook or purse, but she was born around the turn of the century. “Wallet” has always been the small item I put my money, id and cards in.

In Australia we always say bag or handbag. A purse is a females wallet.

In Australia we use purse or wallet (for the item which hold money, credit cards etc) and bag or handbag for carrying the purse / wallet (and water bottles, sunnies etc) around.

M

I always love discussions of regional words! Having grown up in CT and having lived in Chicago for the last 20 years, I now use most regional words interchangeably (except “soda”. It will never be “pop” to me!). Funnily enough, I only ever call it a pocketbook when I am back visiting in CT; the rest of the time it’s usually my purse or my bag.

I do have a wallet and a coin purse inside said purse, though.

I’m from Canada, and I use handbag, or pocketbook very rarely. I use wallet for your “purse” and I have a separate coin purse. My sisters and Mom use the same terms, though I think we do say purse or bag occasionally.

I grew up in North GA and am now living in FL. Growing up my Mom always called it a pocketbook. In it was placed a billfold. These days I call it a bag and and a wallet. If I’m talking with family, I will revert back and call them pocketbooks and billfolds.

Interesting. It’s fun to hear what people from different regions call things. I’ve always said ‘purse’ for the bags I carry of various sizes, and heard other people here in the Mid-West say ‘purse’ as well. A ‘wallet,’ ‘pocketbook,’ or ‘billfold’ is inside the purse and carries cards, id, and change. Some people carry small ‘change purses’ in their ‘purses,’ but usually the ‘wallet’ also holds change instead. I’ve never heard a ‘purse’ referred to as a ‘pocketbook.’ ‘Handbag’ always seemed like an old-fashioned and formal word to me, or a word to describe a fancy purse. Not sure why. I guess most of the time when I carry a ‘purse’ small enough to fit in my hand it is an evening clutch. If it goes over my shoulder, it’s no longer a ‘handbag’ to me. ‘Bag’ is more of a general term to me that covers purses, plastic bags, paper bags, canvas bags, book bags, etc. That was good and cofusing.

For all my coins, I use a coin purse.
I use the word bag and hand bag interchangeably. Sometimes still calling it a purse!
Dee

This is an interesting question, Angie! I wonder if the meaning of “purse” evolve overtime, too. In Hitchcock’s 1941 movie “Suspicion”, there is a scene where Cary Grant tries to kiss Joan Fontaine. At the last moment, Hitchcock cross-cuts to Fontaine closes her purse clasp. “Click!” Cary Grant looks down, the magic moment is gone. The purse (small handbag) clasp symbolizes Fontaine “pursing up” like a clam. And I thought, although this is an American movie, Hitchcock is undoubtably British, then is this “small handbag” a purse to Hitchcock as well? I wonder, maybe both meanings of “purse” were interchangable at some point in time? And maybe the meaning evolve from “something that has a clasp/closure and is used for holding money, amount other things”? I really wonder…

Minnesota – PURSE
Wallet – wallet, or maybe billfold, but that would be more masculine.

Pocketbook, I think, is a Southern regionalism. My grandmother and aunt, from TN and VA, both used the word pocketbook exclusively. They also always said plaits instead of braids, among other things! Handbag, in my experience, is a bit old-fashioned; purse is usually used by the middle-aged, while just ‘bag’ is more common with younger people (which also makes sense because it’s often not a handbag, it’s a messenger bag or a backpack or a tote bag or whatever).

In Australia When I was growing up a purse was a wallet for a woman, and wallet was for a man. A wallet folds in half is for carrying paper and cards, whilst a purse is for holding coins (and now credit cards and other money).

Now women call them either wallets or purses which hold money, and a handbag or just a bag (for short, we love to shorten stuff here).

A doona in Australia is a duvet in the UK and a Quilt (I think ) in the US.

So many regional differences!

I believe “purse” is a term that is on its way out, my friends and I (who are late 20’s, early 30’s) now use handbag or bag most often. I don’t believe it happened conciously, we just started hearing and seeing the term more and more.

Ha–This makes me laugh. I am from Colorado originally and have since moved to NJ. In Colorado, we termed it “purse”. When I moved to NJ it is called “pocketbook” or “handbag”. Same type of thing when you are speaking of carbonated beverages such as Pepsi, or Gingerale. “Pop” vs. “soda”. Hee hee

To me a purse is something very specific – a certain size (not big enough to carry the requisite book and water bottle!), something that hangs from the shoulder, that’s a little fussy. It reminds me of my grandmother, because she was the only woman in my family who ever carried one.

I don’t know too many people who carry purses – most of my friends carry what I would call a bag or possibly a handbag. Something funkier, bigger, more like a messenger bag.