Surprisingly, the capital of the country has a modest name Singapore (that is, the full namesake of the name of the country itself). The name is derived from the Malay word Singa (Lion), borrowed from Sanskrit, and Sanskrit pura is a city. Although until about 1819 this city-state was known by several names.

There is a legend in which it is said that the city was founded by Sri Tri Buan (or Sang Nila Utama), the descendant of Maharaja Shrivijaya. When he was shipwrecked near the island, he saw a mythical Merlion with a fish body and a lion's head. Asking what kind of creature he was, he received a response - a lion. And it was with him, at the end of the 13th century, that the city of Singapore, the "city of the lion", was built on the island. By the way, today Merlion is considered a symbol of the country, its statue is in the center of the capital and is considered one of the main attractions.

And if you consider that the capital occupies most of the state itself (located on the island of the same name, the largest of more than 50 islands of Singapore), this name does not at all seem random.