Is the term Mackem a badge of local pride or a historic Tyneside insult?

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In North East England, the label Mackem identifies people from Sunderland. While locals have embraced the name since the 1980s, its origins remain debated. Some link it to local shipbuilding, while others suggest it began as a disparaging nickname coined by rivals in Tyneside to mock the city's speech.

The term Mackem, or Mak'em, is a nickname for residents of Sunderland and the surrounding Wearside area. While it is now used as a self-descriptor, it was historically employed by people in Tyneside as a derogatory exonym. The word is often linked to the phrase 'Mak 'em and tak 'em,' which reflects the local pronunciation of 'make them' and 'take them.' One popular theory suggests this refers to Sunderland's shipbuilding history: workers would build the ships, and pilots would then take them down the River Wear to the sea. Another theory posits that ships were built in Sunderland but taken to Tyneside for outfitting, leading to the phrase 'we make 'em an' they take 'em,' though this is contested.

Linguistic evidence suggests the term is a relatively recent coinage, with the Oxford English Dictionary identifying its first print appearance in 1988. However, earlier evidence exists, such as a 1973 sporting reference to the Sunderland Cricket & Rugby Football Club and a 1929 article. Some researchers suggest the name may have specifically targeted shipyard workers during World War II, who were perceived as taking jobs away from Geordies in Tyneside. Despite the confusion, the Mackem dialect is distinct from the Geordie dialect of Newcastle upon Tyne, sharing more features with the dialects of the Durham Coalfield.

Perceptual dialect studies conducted by the University of Sunderland confirm that locals view Mackem and Geordie as separate entities. The dialects differ in phonetic, lexical, and grammatical ways. For instance, while Geordie speakers might use 'toon' for town, Mackem speakers typically use 'town.' Furthermore, the Mackem dialect features unique pronunciation patterns, such as the insertion of an extra syllable in words like 'film'—pronounced 'fil-em'—and 'school,' which becomes 'skoo-ul.' Even within Sunderland, subtle variations exist between the north and south of the city, such as the preference for 'summik' versus 'summat' when saying 'something.'

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