The region in which "Cockneys" reside has changed over time, and is no longer the whole of London. A common belief is that in order to be a Cockney, one must have been born within earshot of the Bow Bells. However, the church of St. Mary-le-Bow was destroyed in 1666 by the Great Fire of London and rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren. After the bells were destroyed again in 1941 in The Blitz of World War II, and before they were replaced in 1961, there was a period when by this definition no 'Bow-bell' Cockneys could be born. The use of such a literal definition produces other problems, since the area around the church is no longer residential and the noise of the area makes it unlikely that many people would be born within earshot of the bells anymore.

A study was carried by the city in 2000 to see how far the Bow Bells could be heard, and it was estimated that the bells would have been heard six miles to the east, five miles to the north, three miles to the south, and four miles to the west. According to the legend of Dick Whittington the bells could once be heard from as far away as Highgate. The association with Cockney and the East End in the public imagination may be due to many people assuming that Bow Bells are to be found in the district of Bow, rather than the lesser known St Mary-le-Bow church.

John Camden Hotten, in his Slang Dictionary of 1859 makes reference to "their use of a peculiar slang language" when describing the costermongers of London's East End. In terms of other slang, there are also several borrowings from Yiddish, including kosher and shtumm (originally German, via Yiddish, meaning quiet), as well as Romany, for example wonga (meaning money, from the Romany "wanga" meaning coal), and cushty (from the Romany kushtipen, meaning good). A fake Cockney accent is sometimes called 'Mockney'.

During the renovation of the city and expansion of the central business district (into Canary Wharf/London Docklands) many Cockney strongholds have disappeared with the residents re-settling in Kent and Essex. Although they represent a social group and have historical significance, they are also small in number.

A more typical and enduring trait of being a Londoner is to actually come from somewhere else, but to make your home in London. London is the most multi-cultural city on Earth, with more than 270 nationalities. Several reasons contribute to this. Membership of the Commonwealth and the European Union (80 countries combined) and also that English is the most common lingua franca, in use. English is spoken by nearly 2 billion people across the globe (as a first and second language) – 880 million speak Mandarin and 500 million Spanish. Over 300 distinct languages are spoken in London.

 

 

Cockneys from the past, via the Fast Show - irony alert.

 

Dick van Dyke: a Hollywood Cockney but 'Poppins' is above mocking. Step in Time, etc.