'Singapore' comes from Malay terms, since the ancient Indonesians(namely Sang Nila Utama) were the ones who founded it. 'Singa' comes from the malay word 'singa' meaning lion. 'pore' comes from the malay word 'pura' which means city. together, 'Singapore' means 'Lion City'. How did that name come about? One day, while Sang Nila Utama, a legendary(he is part of Singapore's ancient history) Malay prince from Sumatra, was sailing, there was a sudden storm and his ship was washed ashore on an island(Singapore). He then saw a lion at a far distance and it roared when it saw him. It was the first sign of life that he saw on the island and therefore he named it 'Lion City' or 'Singapura'. Singapore is the English derivation from Singapore. I hope this answers your question! (: