British Slang For Head (11 Examples!)

Our heads are the most important, and yet also vulnerable, parts of our body.

We talk about them a lot, whether that’s because they hurt because you want to put your head down, because your hair is bothering you—or just anything at all, really!

Unsurprisingly, then, there are a great many slang terms in British English for someone’s head—so let’s look at a few of them.

In This Article

Noggin

Noggin is one of the most ubiquitous and widely used slang terms for head in Britain.

This describes someone’s whole head—physically from the point of view of “hit your noggin” and similar phrases, or the idea of thinking and using your brain.

“Use your noggin on this one!” for example.

The word originally meant a small cup in the 17^th Century, and by the year 1866 we have our earliest attested use of the term to mean someone’s head.

This one is fairly widespread because of this very reason—it’s obviously a very old term!

Nut

Next we have nut.

This one is not quite as common as noggin, but nonetheless, it is still very widely used in Britain to mean someone’s head.

Again, this could mean both the physical reality of your head—“Be careful, don’t hit your nut on the ceiling”—but also again the idea of thinking.

“You may have to get your nut going to figure this one out,” for example.

This comes from the early 20^th Century, when “nut” meant a crazy person.

Eventually, by around the middle of that century, it had come to be simply a slang term for head.

Bonce

Next we have bonce, undoubtedly the most widely used slang term in Britain for someone’s head.

Once again, it has both meanings of being either your head and outer skull or the metaphorical idea of using your bonce to think about something.

This one is often used when talking about someone who is drunk. “He’s off his bonce tonight!” for example.

Originally, a bonce was a large marble featured in children’s games of the 19^th Century, possibly as a version of “bounce”.

Due to the smooth, round nature of marbles, this eventually came to mean someone’s head.

Napper

Next we have napper.

This one is a bit more regional, and not everyone in Britain is likely to understand its meaning right away.

Nonetheless, it is still in widespread use in large parts of Britain and is once again a dual term.

It can mean both your head itself—“Mind your napper on the way in”—and also your capacity to think: “With your napper, I’m sure you can come up with a solution,” for example.

This one appears to derive from Scots, though we aren’t completely sure of its origin.

Loaf

Loaf is another slang term used in Britain for someone’s head.

It is most often used to describe someone’s bald head, since the idea is that a bald head looks sort of like a loaf of bread from certain angles.

Even despite its intuitive meaning, this one is not that widely used and is again quite regional.

We’re not sure when this one started being used, though we have no attested uses of this slang term before the middle of the last century.

It may well, of course, stretch back further than that.

Cue ball

Cue ball is another slang term used to describe someone with a bald head.

Again, I think the sense is fairly obvious and intuitive here, and this one is not only a British slang term but can also be heard in the U.S. or in Australia. Cue balls, in pool and snooker, are smooth, round, and white—like a bald head.

These kinds of table games like snooker were only invented at the end of the 19^th Century, although billiards far predates this.

It became popular in the 20^th Century, so this is when the term came to mean a bald head.

Mazzard

Mazzard is yet another British slang term for head.

This one is not all that widely used anymore and is definitely somewhat of an archaism, but is still widely used.

It means a person’s whole head and face, regardless of the amount of hair they have! “I’ll just get inside and get this hat off my mazzard,” for example.

The term originated in the 18^th Century, and came from the word mazer, which was a kind of drinking bowl made of hardwood.

Nob

Nob is another British slang word that can be used for someone’s head.

Again, this one is not very widely used anymore, as it is more of an archaism—in the 18^th Century, “nob” was meant as a humorous variant of “knob”, meaning someone’s head.

This one can have a very different meaning in British slang today—so be very careful!

Noodle

Next we have noodle, another term widely used in British slang for someone’s head.

Though it’s somewhat humorous and dated, it’s still broadly understood and used across Britain.

Again, it can have the sense of your physical head or of your brain. “I’ll set my noodle to work on this problem,” for example.

This is in fact a lot older than you might think. In the 15^th Century, it was used perhaps as a variation of the Latin nodulus, meaning nodule.

Coconut

Coconut is another one used in Britain in some areas, and I think the sense is quite clear!

Coconuts, especially those which have just come off the tree, are very large and round like someone’s head. You might, once again, use this one for both your head and your brain.

“Something just fell on my coconut!” for example.

Uncle Ned

Finally, we have Uncle Ned—a piece of Cockney rhyming slang.

Cockney is a local, regional dialect used in parts of London, and a large part of their slang comes from taking words that rhyme with what you’re actually saying and using that instead.

Such is the case with “uncle Ned”, which, as I’m sure you’ve figured out, rhymes with “head”!

There are more than a few examples of British slang for head, then.

From Cockney rhyming slang to universal terms like bonce, there is no shortage of ways to describe your head using slang.

Bonce is probably the most widely accepted and widely used slang term that is unique to Britain.

Many of these terms have since spread elsewhere or even came from another English-speaking nation, to begin with.

More in British Slang

Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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