Merlion

The Merlion is the national symbol of the city-state of Singapore. It is depicted as a mythical creature with a lion's head and the body of a fish. Being of prominent symbolic nature to Singapore and Singaporeans in general, it is widely used to represent both the country and its people in sports teams, advertising, branding, tourism and as a national personification and patriotic emblem of the Singaporean nation.

The Merlion was first used in Singapore as the logo for the tourism board. Its name combines "mer", meaning the sea, and "lion". The fish body represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, which means "Sea Town" in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore's original name—Singapura—meaning "Lion City".

The symbol was designed by Alec Fraser-Brunner, a member of the Souvenir Committee and curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium, for the logo of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) which was in use from 1964 to 1997, and has been a trademarked symbol since 1966. Although the STB has since changed their logo in 1997, the STB Act continues to protect the Merlion symbol. Approval must be received from STB before it can be used. The Merlion appears frequently on STB-approved souvenirs.