The term
cockney has had several distinct geographical, social, and linguistic associations. Originally a pejorative term applied to all city-dwellers, it was eventually restricted to
Londoners and particularly to the "Bow-bell Cockneys": those born within earshot of
Bow Bells, the
bells of
St Mary-le-Bow in the
Cheapside district of the
City of London. More recently, it is variously used to refer to those in London's
East End, or to all working-class Londoners generally.