Which is the correct spelling of mom/mum in the UK?

Solution 1:

Both spellings are correct and derive from mommy and mummy. According to Ngram, Mom/mom is the more common spelling in AmE, while Mum/mum is more common in BrE:

Mom :

• 1867, American English, perhaps a shortening of mommy; also see mamma. Adjectival phrase mom and pop dates from 1951.

Mum:

• pet word for "mother," 1823, short for mummy (see mamma). In British sociology, used from 1957 in reference to "the working class mother as an influence in the lives of her children." Also sometimes a vulgar corruption of madam.

(Etymonline)

It is worth considering also the related term Mam/mam:

(informal and colloquial) Diminutive of mother.

Etymology:

Possibly either conserved from or influenced by earlier Brythonic language.

(Wiktionary)

Mam:

We have several informal words for “mother” in English: mum (heard in much of England), mom (heard in much of America), and mam (heard in Ireland and Northern England). But are these actually different words, or are they just, in some sense, the same word?

Although “mum,” “mam,” and “mom” read differently, they’re often pronounced in a very similar way. Here’s a comparison of three different dialects, and their “mom” pronunciations (don’t worry if you aren’t proficient in IPA — I’ll explain after):

• London: “mum” — [mɐm]

• General American: “mom” — [mɑm]

• Manchester, UK: “mam” — [mam]

Whether you understand the IPA symbols above or not, the point is that in these three dialects, the words are quite close in pronunciation. To be fair, there are some regions where this is not the case. In the Western US, for example, mom is often more clearly “mawm.”

(dialectblog.com)

Solution 2:

Mum(my) is the most common spelling in the UK; Ngram:

Mom dominates in the US (although only since about 1970 ??); Ngram:

Solution 3:

Mom is an intimate, personal word, a nickname, though a common one. Such words have no standard spellings, because they are not standards; they are personal. Everybody pronounces Mom or Ma or Muv or Mama or Momma or Mo or Muh -- or whatever -- their own way. That's before they learn there is any spelling.

And how often do you write words like that? Not nearly as often as you say them. So there are no standard spellings because there is no standard intimacy. At least not in writing.

Executive Summary: Spell it any way you like; it's your word.

Solution 4:

Warning: Strong text

I quote the well-respected English poet, Philip Larkin, from This Be The Verse:

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.

They may not mean to, but they do.

They fill you with the faults they had

And add some extra, just for you.

I heard this recited on a BBC radio broadcast in the ’70s or ’80s (much to the consternation of my late mother-in-law). I can’t find a precise reference to the original programme, but I believe the poem was included in a more recent broadcast of his poems, so you could say that this establishes ‘mum’ as BBC English as well as literary English.

And as Wikipedia and everyone this side of the Atlantic knows, ‘Mum’ has the royal imprimatur: Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was known familiarly in Britain as “The Queen Mum”:

Popularly, she became the “Queen Mother” or the “Queen Mum”.

And for those who may ask whether this usage persists into the internet age, there is Mumsnet, which claims to be:

“the UK’s most popular parenting website”

So in Britain, albeit with regional variations, mum’s the word, used by poet, prince and parent. (And me.)