The fish symbol is one of the oldest symbols of Christianity. It was in use until the end of the 4th century, and then replaced with the classic cross.
It is not completely traceable where the popularity of the fish symbol comes from, but the most interesting derivation is this one:

Ancient Greek was a common language at the lifetime of Jesus – like English is in our days. Today ancient Greek is only used in theological studies.
The fish contains kind of a secret code, a Christian statement of faith in a shorter form. The initials of the sentence “Jesus Christ God’s Son, Savior” (in Greek“Iesous Christos theou hüios soter”) result in the Greek word ICHTHYS – English “fish”.

History of the Fish-sticker

At the beginning of Christianity the fish was a symbol for definitive christians. Ancient christians were hunted for their beliefs and tortured or killed if they were caught. In defiance to this threat they organized secret meetings and used the fish-symbol as a distinctive mark.
Since the 1980′s the symbol has become more popular. Nowadays it is a global emblem for Christian unit.

What do I say with this emblem?

Whoever puts the fish on his car makes him/herself into a kind of ambassador of Christ. He/she commits him/herself to considerate and and humane behavior – especially in driving style.
People who embed the fish on their websites show their beliefs in Jesus as the Son of God in a similar way .

Who should not use this emblem?

Whoever does not agree with the testimony of the Bible or doesn’t believe that Jesus is the Son of God should not use this symbol.

How can I use it?

At the end of this page there are emblems with associated HTML-Codes. Whoever wants to integrate one of them can copy the stated code to a desired spot on his homepage. It is recommended, but not binding, that the symbol links to this site (www.fish-emblem.info/index_en.php) to explain the meaning to uninformed visitors and to give it the chance to spread.

What is its meaning and origin?
And what about the Darwin fish and the dead Darwin fish icons?

Christians have used the fish symbol — also known as the ichthys (ixthus, icthus) symbol — since the first century.

The meaning of the word and symbol is very clever. The word ichthys means fish in Greek, but the letters are also the initials of five Greek words that mean “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior” (Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter).

Jesus Christ told His disciples in Matthew 4:19: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” As the early Christians followed Christ’s command to follow Him and lead others to the Lord, the fish symbol became a natural extension of Christ’s command and also a way to recognize and identify others who knew the symbol’s meaning.

Above: Ancient Christian ichthys carved into marble in the ruins of Ephesus, Turkey.

Even in English today we have words derived from this Greek word forfish — such as ichthyology, the study of fishes; ichthyoomy, the anatomy of fishes; ichthyofauna, the fish of a certain region; ichthyography, a written work about fishes.

Similar to Greek letter alpha

The fish symbol is also similar in shape to the first letter of the Greek alphabet, alpha. In Revelation 22:13 Christ says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”

Christians using the fish symbol were acknowledging that Christ was Alpha, the first. He was around at the beginning of creation (John 1:1 — “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”).

In the early days of Christianity, and at other times throughout history, Christians were persecuted or put to death for following their faith and Jesus Christ as their Savior. If they worshipped in secret places, a fish symbol outside the door was a way for other believers to know where they could worship and meet with other Christians.

Today, the fish symbol is used by Christians in business on their advertisements or signs. This simply identifies them to other Christians who usually feel comfortable dealing with other Christians.

Baptism

The fish symbol also identifies the believer with baptism in water. And baptism by total immersion pictures Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. The word ichthys is pronounced IKTH-us.

Pagan symbol?

Some Christians will not use the fish symbol because they say it has pagan origins. But, like the cross, Christians adapted the symbols to mean something completely different. Christians who criticize other Christians for using a cross or fish symbol to identify their faith are being extremely insensitive to other people’s beliefs.

Most Christians have no idea about the origin of the fish and cross symbols, and to question their faith based on a totally different meaning and intent shows lack of understanding, perhaps even heartlessness, that surely can’t be pleasing to God.

The Darwin fish

Some atheistic evolutionists have made a parody of the Christian fish symbol, ichthys, by drawing it to face in the opposite direction, and putting legs on it to represent the evolutionary belief that legless fish evolved into land creatures with legs.

But creationists and some Intelligent Design adherents have come back with a parody on the Darwin fish logo. They have flipped the logo to create a “dead Darwin fish” symbol (right) — showing their belief that Darwinism, like Charles Darwin, is dead.

Credit: creationtips

The ichthys symbol, or “Jesus fish”, typically used to proclaim an affiliation with or affinity for Christianity, is sometimes a subject of satire, especially when adorning the bumpers or trunks of automobiles. Most such ornaments are adhesive badges made of chrome-colored plastic. The following are some examples of these satires.

Darwin fish

A Darwin fish is an ichthys with stylized legs.

The Darwin fish is an ichthys symbol with “evolved” legs and feet attached and often with the word Darwin inside (like the ΙΧΘΥΣ or Jesus found in some Christian versions). It symbolizes the scientific theory of evolution, for which Charles Darwin laid the foundation, in contrast with Creationism, which is often associated with Christianity. The Darwin fish bears a stylized resemblance to Ichthyostega, which is a major example of a transitional fossil. Related to the Darwin fish is a fish with legs, the word ‘evolve’, and a hand that is holding a wrench.

Rhetorical scholar Thomas Lessl has conducted a questionnaire survey of users of the Darwin fish emblem. Based on their responses, he interprets the symbol as scientific “blackface,” a parody that is one part mockery and one part imitation. While users frequently explain the symbol as a rebuke against Creationism, Lessl suggests that the emblem represents a metaphor for cultural progress.

The Darwin fish has led to competition among bumper stickers. A design was made with a larger “Jesus fish” eating the Darwin fish. Sometimes, the larger fish contains letters that spell the word “Truth.” A further step shows two fish, one with legs labelled “I evolved”, the other without legs labelled “You didn’t”. Another variant has a Darwin fish with a mouth, carrying away a smaller, dead Jesus fish by its tail. Yet another variant is the “ixnay” fish (from the Pig Latin for “nix”, and punning on ΙΧΘΥΣ). Other variants depict an “Evolution” or “Darwin” fish swallowing an “ΙΧΘΥΣ”, “Jesus” or “Truth” fish; another version has a “Science” fish swallowing a “Myth” fish.

Origin

In 1983, two friends involved in the southern California atheist and freethought movements, Al Seckel and John Edwards, co-created the Darwin fish design, which was first used on a freethought leaflet entitled “Darwin’s Views on Religion” for Atheists United in 1984. It was then sold by Atheists United and other freethought groups, which got free permission from Seckel and Edwards throughout the 1980s, to be used on bumper stickers and t-shirts.Chris Gilman, a Hollywood prop maker, claimed not to have seen Seckel’s and Edward’s design, joked of the idea as an “advertising” alternative to the “Jesus fish” in 1983 while working at a prop shop in Hollywood, when the employees’ conversation turned to a court case involving teaching evolution versus creationism. He manufactured the first plastic car ornaments in 1988, and started Evolution Design 1990. Evolution design moved to Austin, Texas in 1994. Evolution Design’s fish faced right, while Seckel and Edwards’ design faced left, like the Christian symbol. When Evolution Design was at risk of losing its trademark on the design, Evolution Design began threatening to sue creators of look-alike Darwin fish emblems and unlicensed products. Recruited by one of the sellers of unlicensed products, Seckel and Edwards in turn sued Evolution Design for copyright infringement. Seckel and Edwards did not seek royalties, but wanted Evolution Design to allow free use of the design by anyone authorized by them. Seckel and Edwards felt that in the spirit of parody and free speech, their design predated Gilman’s claimed origin of 1988. During the discovery phase Gilman was not able to offer any proof that he had created the design during the 1980s (which during that time was widely distributed), while Seckel and Edwards were able to supply postmarked and dated material containing their Darwin fish design from as early as 1983. The suit was settled when it became apparent that Seckel and Edwards had not properly protected their design.

Darwin Awards fish

The Darwin Awards fish is a “dead fish” floating belly-up, with the words Darwin Awards inside, indicating that in natural selection, the less-fit die out.

Edible fish

One parody of the symbol is a fish with the word “Gefilte” written in letters stylized to resemble Hebrew letters. This refers to gefilte fish, a common dish in Jewish cuisine; used on an automobile, it indicates that the driver of the car is Jewish.

Another parody, most commonly seen in areas populated by those of Norwegian descent, is a fish containing the word “Lutefisk”.

Yet another parody on this fish, shows only the lower tail fin, and inside the fish reads “n’Chips”, a play on “Fish and Chips”.

“Sushi” written inside the ichthys is one more variant.