The Merlion Story

Why not add a little bit of patriotism to your accessories with this mythical creature that features a lion’s head and a fish body. Symbolizing Singapore’s humble beginnings as a fishing village, and representing Singapore’s original name, Singapura (‘lion city’), the beautiful merlion is not only widely used as a mascot and national personification of Singapore, but also must-see icon for tourists visiting our sunny islands.

The Singapore Merlion icon was promoted by the Singapore Tourism Board’s publicity campaign, the lion head and fish body of the creature recalls the story of the legendary Sang Nila Utama, who saw a lion while hunting on an island, en route to Malacca, eventually named the island Temasek, a precursor to Singapore.