The name comes from the combination of mer, which refers to the sea, and lion as a literal representation of the animal. They briefly told me a story about travelers who came to the island of Singapore many years ago. These travelers came across lions that were able to speak and transform into sea creatures as well. After hearing this story, I did some research because I wanted to learn more about the Merlion.
I started by looking for more information about the Merlion online, and I came to learn about its interesting history as a national symbol for Singapore. The legend of the Merlion starts with an Indonesian prince named Sang Nila Utama. He is said to have sailed across the vast ocean during the end of the 13th century and eventually came across a fishing island called Temasek, which translated from Javanese, means “fish town”. On the island of Temasek, the prince stumbled upon a magnificent lion who was able to speak. This lion claimed that the name of the island was actually Singapura, which translates from Sanskrit to “Lion City”. Mysteriously enough, no one has reported seeing lions on the island since then. This has led many people to believe that there were never lions on the island of Singapura in the first place.
However, the half-lion and half-fish symbol that Singapore is known for today did not come about until the year 1966, which was about one year after Singapore gained its independence and the tourist board was looking for an image to represent the new country.
