Mermaids in popular culture

People dress in mermaid costumes for events such as parades.

Mermaids, like many other creatures of mythology and folklore, are regularly depicted in literature, film, music, and popular culture. In the folklore of some modern cultures, the concept of the siren has been assimilated to that of the mermaid. For example, the French word for mermaid is sirène, Italian sirena, and similarly in certain other European languages. This usage existed by the Middle Ages.

Literature

An illustration from a 1913 reprinting of Hans Christian Andersen's 1837 fairy tale The Little Mermaid

The cover of Yevgeny Zamyatin's 1913 Russian-language novel A Provincial Tale

The March 1949 issue of Fantastic Adventures features the story "The Mermaid of Maracot Deep".

Several stories in Andrew Lang's Fairy Books feature mermaids.

An illustration of Vanity Fair's Becky Sharp as a man-killing mermaid, by the work's author William Thackeray.

Literary Work	Year	Author	Notes
Aquamarine	2001	Alice Hoffman	Two 13-year-old girls befriend a sassy teenage mermaid looking for love. It was adapted into the 2006 film of the same name by 20th Century Fox, and starring Sara Paxton, Emma Roberts and JoJo.
Caleb's Friend	1993	Eric Jon Nones	When Caleb drops his beloved harmonica overboard, it's returned by a pale, lank-haired, monochromatic boy—a sea creature whose elegant fish tail can be seen when he turns a joyous somersault, and who reappears when Caleb plays the harmonica again. Though the boy doesn't understand Caleb's words, he's delighted with the rose Caleb gives him, and the two become friends. But to the other fishermen, the sea lad is a spectacle to be sold. After he's captured and put on exhibit, Caleb rescues him; they exchange gifts once again before the boy disappears, never to be forgotten.
The Chronicles of Narnia	1950–1956	C. S. Lewis	In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first book published in The Chronicles of Narnia series, mermaids sing at the coronation of the Pevensie children. In Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third book of the series, Lucy Pevensie sees a group of mermaids and bonds silently with a young mermaid girl. See Adaptations of The Chronicles of Narnia
A Comb of Wishes	2022	Lisa Stringfellow	In a novel set in the Caribbean, a girl grieving her mother's death finds a mermaid's comb and is granted a wish, but the wish comes at a dangerous cost and the mermaid is plotting revenge.
Deep Trouble	1994	R. L. Stine	The 19th book in the Goosebumps series. A boy named Billy Deep finds a mermaid.
El Regalo del Pescador (The Fisherman's Gift)	2002	Rocío del Mar Antón Blanco and Dolores Núñez Madrid	During a short overnight journey in which a fisherman tries to find "the most beautiful thing from the sea" to give to his young son, he considers a number of wonderful options without being able to make just one choice. One of the many gifts he contemplates is the following: "The fisherman thinks about his son: "I would like to give him a mermaid who sang to him by his bed". What will he bring him? There are so many beautiful things in the sea!"
Emily Windsnap series	2003–present	Liz Kessler	A teenage girl discovers she's a "Semi-Mer" and becomes a mermaid in the water.
Everworld series	1999–2001	K. A. Applegate	Mer-people live underwater in the Roman version of Atlantis.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them	2001	J. K. Rowling	A fictional textbook about the magical creatures in the Harry Potter world, including mermaids. They are described as in three different species: sirens, selkies and merrows. Similar to other humanoid magical creatures in this universe, they do not wield or understand magic themselves. They appear in the fourth and sixth books of the series.
The Goblin Tower	1968	L. Sprague de Camp	A human king falls in love with a mermaid. The story goes into hilarious detail about the couple's difficult efforts to physically consummate their love, which nearly ends in disaster (he nearly drowns in trying to have sex underwater, and she is nearly killed by his bodyguards in revenge). In the end, the king marries a human woman, though keeping a platonic friendship with the mermaid.
The History of Middle-earth: The Book of Lost Tales, Part I	1983	J. R. R. Tolkien	Edited by Christopher Tolkien. Mermaids make an appearance.
The Ingo Series	2005–2012	Helen Dunmore	Set in Cornwall, the main characters Sapphire and Conor discover the world of Ingo. Their mer friends Faro and Elvira teach them how to breathe underwater.
Into the Drowning Deep	2017	Mira Grant	A crew making a mockumentary on mermaids is lost at sea, and controversial leaked footage appears to show real mermaids killing them all. Seven years later, a second voyage sets out to prove the existence of the deadly and violent mermaids.
Keeper	2010	Kathi Appelt	A young girl searches for her mother, Meggie Marie, whom she believes is a mermaid.
The Last Mermaid	2010	Brendan Connell	A short story in the collection Unpleasant Tales. It relates how the last mermaid in existence was brought to the table of King Carlos II of Spain.
The Little Mermaid	1837	Hans Christian Andersen	Andersen's portrayal of a mermaid shapeshifting into a human has arguably become the standard and has influenced most modern Western depictions of mermaids since it was published. It has been adapted into various media, the most famous of which is the 1989 Disney movie of the same name.
Lost Voices	2011	Sarah Porter	The first in a trilogy about abused girls who become mermaids due to a traumatic event, who sing ships to their doom.
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock	1915	T. S. Eliot	It uses the metaphor of mermaids to emphasize Prufock's plight: "I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. / I do not think that they will sing to me." See: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock in popular culture.
The Mermaid of Black Conch	2020	Monique Roffey	In St Constance, a Caribbean village on the island of Black Conch, David sings to himself in his pirogue and attracts Aycayia, a beautiful young woman cursed by jealous wives to live as a mermaid. She has been swimming the Caribbean Sea for centuries and is entranced by David and his song. Author Monique Roffey created Aycayia's character based on the Mami Wata mythology.
Mermaid's Song	1989	Alida Van Gores	Two ocean-dwelling races, the mogs and the oppressed mermaid-like merra, fight for dominance. One merra maid named Elan sets out to compete for the coveted post of guardian to the Sea Dragons.
The Merman's Children	1979	Poul Anderson	Inspired by the story of Agnete og Havmanden, this novel follows a family of half-human, half-merfolk siblings as the realm of Faerie is slowly driven out by human influence.
The Mermaid Summer	1988	Mollie Hunter	Eric Anderson must leave his island home when he incurs the wrath of a mermaid by slighting her. He can never return unless his grandchildren Jon and Anna confront and tame the mermaid.
Moby-Dick	1851	Herman Melville	In Chapter 126, "The Life-Buoy", the crew of the Pequod hear human-like cries in the night. Superstitious crewmen believe they are the sounds of mermaids or ghosts, which signify a bad omen. Captain Ahab scoffs at this, saying they have merely passed a seal colony in the night. His explanation does little to calm their nerves and the next day a crewman falls to his death from the masthead. See Adaptations of Moby-Dick
The Moon and the Sun	1997	Vonda N. McIntyre	A captured mermaid is brought to the court of King Louis XIV, where a young noblewoman begins trying to free her.
Peter and Wendy	1911	J. M. Barrie	The mermaids depicted here are the beautiful and mysterious but equally vain creatures residing in the Mermaid's Lagoon in Neverland. They are only friendly to Peter Pan but dislike all other humans, especially Wendy Darling, as they make splash on them or even attempt to drown them. See List of works based on Peter Pan
Real Mermaids Series	2010–2013	Helene Boudreau	A teen girl of partial mer-person heritage deals with both human and mermaid problems.
The Scarecrow of Oz	1915	L. Frank Baum	The main characters are rescued from danger by the mermaids.
The Sea Fairies	1911	L. Frank Baum	A novel about merfolk. Introduces the characters of Trot and Cap'n Bill, who later live in Oz.
The Sea Lady	1901	H. G. Wells	A mermaid comes ashore on the southern coast of England in 1899, mingles with genteel society under the alias "Miss Doris Thalassia Waters, the mermaid's real design is to seduce Harry Chatteris, a man she saw "some years ago" in "the South Seas—near Tonga," who has taken her fancy.
The Search for Delicious	1969	Natalie Zane Babbitt	A mermaid child named Ardis helps a boy save his kingdom.
The Shadow Over Innsmouth	1936	H. P. Lovecraft	In the novella there is a grim variant of merfolk lore via The Deep Ones. Man-fish creatures are subservient to their patron gods Father Dagon and Mother Hydra. They have an affinity for intermarrying with humans and promoting the worship of The Old Ones.
Sirena	1998	Donna Jo Napoli	A siren falls in love with a shipwrecked sailor, but is unsure if he loves her or her magical singing. This book interprets the Sirens of Greek mythology as mermaids.
The Sisters Grimm	2005–2012	Michael Buckley	Illustrated by Peter Ferguson. It features many characters from fantasy and fairy tales, including the Little Mermaid.
The Spiderwick Chronicles	2003–2009	Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black	The series features merfolk and other water creatures like kelpies, nixies, and sea serpents.
The Waterfire Saga	2014–2016	Jennifer Donnelly	Six young mermaids from across the world must band together to defeat an ancient evil.
Watersong	2012-2013	Amanda Hocking	The Sirens are seductive, man-eating immortals who can take a fish-tailed form when they enter the ocean. They transform a young swimmer, Gemma, into one of them.
Wet Magic	1913	E. Nesbit	Four children hear that a mermaid has been captured by a circus and rescue her. Their reward is to visit the hidden kingdom of the mermaids.
Mermaid Tails	2021	Kyt Wright	Seven interlinked stories featuring the lives and loves of an artist and his strange half-sister set in a fictionalized version of St. Ives.

Comic books

• 07-Ghost - The mermaid Lazette sings and plays an organ in a church. She can shapeshift her face into that of other people. If people eat her scales it allows them to breathe underwater.
• Aion - This manga has several mermaids. One of them is named Sheila, The youngest of the mermaids. She falls in love with the main character, Tatsuya.
• Akazukin Chacha - In this manga, a mermaid named Marin falls in love with Riiya. She can change into a human when her tail dries out.
• Arabelle the Last Mermaid by Jean Ache appeared as a comic strip in the daily French newspaper France-Soir between 1950 and 1962. The character returned in various magazines until 1972. Arabelle is discovered by an American plastic surgeon on a Mediterranean island. The surgeon gives her human legs, but she retains her ability to breathe underwater. With her companion, a reformed burglar, Arabelle becomes involved in a series of light, romantic adventures. [1]
• In the manga Black Cat, one of the main characters, Eve, uses nanomachines to give herself transformation abilities, and once she transforms into a mermaid.
• Dragon Ball - In chapter 25, "A Rival Arrives!!", Master Roshi asks Goku to bring him a pretty girl, and if he did, he would train him. Goku finds a mermaid and Master Roshi tries to hit on her. She just slaps him and jumps back into the ocean.
• In the manga/anime Fairy Tail, the main female protagonist, Lucy Heartfilia, uses celestial spirits, one of which is a mermaid called Aquarius. Also, another character, Lisanna Strauss, uses animal-based transformations, one of her tricks being to turn into a mermaid (in an anime-only episode). Furthermore, in the final arc, Lucy and another character, Brandish Mu, are temporarily turned into mermaids when Aquarius takes them to the Memory of the Stars to show them the truth about their mothers.
• Legendz - In the manga, Ken Kazaki's friend Ririko Yasuhara has a mermaid named Tetty.
• Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch - A manga about a group of mermaid princesses who become pop singers and use their voices as weapons against their enemies.
• Mermaid Saga - A manga series by Rumiko Takahashi, which tells that when a person eats the flesh of a mermaid, he can gain immortality, but chances are that the mermaid's flesh will either kill him or transform him into a horrible creatures called "Deformed Ones". Two types of mermaids are shown in the manga. The first may gain human appearance when they eat the flesh of an immortal girl and take on her youthful looks; the second has two legs and feed on the flesh of mermaids who live in water, specifically when they are about to give birth. Besides the flesh, a mermaid's blood, ashes, and liver have different negative effects on humans. Mermaid's blood can sustain a person's youth, but it can't stop their insides from aging, therefore partially tuning them into a Deformed One. Ashes can give flowers immortality, but can only revive dead humans temporarily. A mermaid's liver was used to revive a dead girl, but gave her a need to feed on the livers of living things.
• The manga Monster Musume features a mermaid named Meroune Lorelei, often referred to simply as "Mero", as a major character. She is from a noble family and has an obsession with the classic fairy tale "The Little Mermaid". As a result, she desires a tragic romance.
• My Bride Is a Mermaid - In this manga, the main character, Nagasumi Michishio is saved from drowning by a mermaid, Sun Seto. Afterward, Nagasumi is forced to marry Sun.
• Namor the Sub-Mariner debuted in 1939 as the first superhero of the Marvel Universe. He was born of Homo mermanus, a race of aquatic humanoids. Namor's father was human however, giving him attributes of both races. He is able to exist both on land and at sea, possesses superhuman strength, and can fly via the winglike fins on his ankles. A prince of the undersea kingdom of Atlantis, he would later ascend to the throne as its king. He has a history of hostility towards human civilization but has also been a tenuous ally.
• One Piece - The manga and its franchise has many mermaids, most notably Kokoro, Camie and Princess Shirahoshi.
• Rave Master - The character Celia is a beautiful young mermaid with long blue hair. She is the younger sister of the Queen of the underwater mermaid village, Mildesta. She falls deeply in love with the main protagonist, Haru Glory.
• Starstruck - The character Eeeeeeeeeeluh, a psychic fish woman, has appeared in various incarnations of the science fiction comic series Starstruck, by Elaine Lee and Michael Wm. Kaluta: in the stage play, the comic book stories, a print portfolio, and posters.
• Superman - The comic book superhero Superman had a romantic love interest with a mermaid named Lori Lemaris. Her first appearance was in 1959. The name Lori Lemaris was probably drawn from Lorelei rock in the Rhine added to maris, from the Latin mare, meaning ocean. She has the initials L.L., the same as several of Superman's other love interests including Lois Lane and Lana Lang.
• Urusei Yatsura - In chapter 125, "Pool Spooks! Burning with Forbidden Love", Lum decides to help and with Shinobu's help, they dress as two mermaids.

Films

Annette Kellerman (left) as the titular mermaid in the 1918 film Queen of the Sea

The 1941 Dutch East Indies film Ikan Doejoeng featured mermaids.

The 1952 film Million Dollar Mermaid is based on the life of Annette Kellerman, the first actress to portray a mermaid swimming in film.

Film	Year	Notes
The Mermaid	1904	Silent film by Georges Méliès and starring an unknown actress as The Mermaid. This whimsical, four-minute-long film is the first to feature mermaids.
Siren of the Sea (or The Mermaid)	1911	Silent film starring Annette Kellerman as the first mermaid to actually swim in a costume tail in a film.
Neptune's Daughter	1914	Starring Annette Kellerman.
A Daughter of the Gods	1916	Starring Annette Kellerman.
Queen of the Sea	1918	Starring Annette Kellerman.
Venus of the South Seas	1924	Starring Annette Kellerman.
King Neptune	1932	King Neptune and an array of sea creatures come to the rescue of a mermaid captured by lecherous pirates in this Walt Disney Silly Symphonies cartoon.
Ikan Doejoeng	1941	From the Dutch East Indies
Miranda	1948	Starring Glynis Johns as a flirtatious mermaid who goes on land disguised in a wheelchair.
Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid	1948	Starring Ann Blyth; a man on vacation encounters a mute and alluring mermaid whom he tries to hide at his resort.
Million Dollar Mermaid	1952	Based on the life of Annette Kellerman.
Peter Pan	1953	Produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The mermaids have a minor role in the film, as they live in the mermaid lagoon. The mischievous mermaids enjoy tormenting Wendy, but flee at the sight of Captain Hook.
Mad About Men	1954	Sequel to Miranda (1948).
Pekka ja Pätkä sammakkomiehinä (Pekka and Pätkä as Frogmen)	1954	In this Finnish Pekka Puupää comedy, the heroes rescue a foundered mermaid and carry her to Pekka's apartment. They set her on the bathtub. Pekka's wife Justiina initially sees only her fish-tail and is initially surprised by "a big fish the menfolks have caught" and gets a knife to prepare it as a dinner, but she faints as she sees the mermaid's upper body.
Night Tide	1961	Starring Dennis Hopper and Linda Lawson
Mermaids of Tiburon	1962	Starring Diane Webber, George Rowe, and Timothy Carey
Beach Blanket Bingo	1965	Starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, and includes a sub-plot of the character Bonehead (Jody McCrea) falling for a mermaid portrayed by Lost in Space's Marta Kristen.
Head	1968	Starring The Monkees, briefly features two mermaids in the opening "Porpoise Song" sequence, surrounded by psychedelic effects.
Siren	1968	Animated short film
Local Hero	1984	Marine researcher Marina (Jenny Seagrove) is suspected by her love interest of being a mermaid.
Splash	1984	Starring Daryl Hannah and Tom Hanks, Hannah plays a mermaid who falls in love with a human. She can walk on dry land when in human form, but her legs change into a fish tail whenever she gets wet. Much of the movie revolves around her humorous attempts to conceal her true identity from her lover. A made-for-television sequel, Splash, Too followed in 1988, starring Amy Yasbeck and Todd Waring.
Talk Dirty to Me Part III	1984	The third and fourth films in the adult film series Talk Dirty to Me feature mermaids who come ashore to find men. As in Splash, the mermaids can walk on dry land, and their legs become tails in water. The film endured controversy when it became public knowledge in 1986 that, at the time of filming, actress Traci Lords was 16-year-old and, therefore, underage in the US.
Mermaid in the Manhole	1988	A Tokyo-based shock film centered around a decaying mermaid found living in the Tokyo sewer system. This is a very gruesome film; it focuses on the mermaid's decay and subsequent death from exposure to toxic environment of the sewer.
The Little Mermaid	1989	Produced by Walt Disney Studios, this film portrays a variant of the story by Hans Christian Andersen about Ariel, the mermaid princess who wished for legs. This film was followed by a prequel TV series (The Little Mermaid), a direct-to-video sequel titled The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea featuring the title character's daughter, and a DTV prequel movie in 2008 titled The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning. A live-action adaptation of the original film directed by Rob Marshall was released in 2023.
Hook	1991	Produced by TriStar Pictures Amblin Entertainment, three mermaids appear when Peter Pan (Robin Williams) is dropped into the ocean in Neverland.
The Secret of Roan Inish	1994	Incorporates mysticism into the selkies and their fae children.
Mermaid Got Married	1994	This Hong Kong romantic-comedy (based on Splash) tells the story of a school teacher who falls in love with a mermaid who'd rescued him as a young boy. The film stars Asian cinema idols Ekin Cheng, Christy Chung, and Takeshi Kaneshiro.
Magic Island	1995	Lily, a young mermaid, befriends a group of buccaneers and joins them on their quest for Blackbeard's treasure.
Sabrina Down Under	1999	Sabrina (Melissa Joan Hart) travels to Australia's Great Barrier Reef with her best friend Gwen, a fellow witch from England, for a week-long vacation where they try to help protect a hidden mermaid colony whose habitat is threatened by ocean pollution, and by a local marine biologist, Dr. Julian Martin.
The Thirteenth Year	1999	A teen learns that his birth mother is a mermaid after he begins to grow fins and slimy scales on his thirteenth birthday.
She Creature	2001	Circa 1900, a carnival barker named Angus discovers a mermaid held captive in a tank by a disturbed old man. Angus steals the mermaid and loads her on a ship headed for America. When the mermaid is discovered, Angus's lover Lily begins to suspect that the mermaid is more dangerous than she first seemed.
Mermaids	2003	Erika Heynatz, Nikita Ager, and Sarah Laine are a trio of mermaids who solve their father's murder.
Peter Pan	2003	Mermaids appear in a small segment: the narrator says they "are not like the mermaids in stories" though Wendy is thrilled by them. These mermaids have webbed fingers, sharp teeth and markings on their faces. Peter asks them if Captain Hook has kidnapped John and Michael, which the mermaids confirm. One of them also tries to drown Wendy.
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie	2004	Princess Mindy, a mermaid who is the daughter of King Neptune, helps SpongeBob and Patrick get the crown from Shell City.
Sirène song	2005	Short feature by Fanny Jean-Noel. A mermaid is seeking for a job.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe	2005	Mermaids appear briefly at the end of the story.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	2005	Merpeople appear briefly during the second task.
Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia	2006	In this Barbie doll direct-to-video movie, Elina travels to Mermaidia to save her friend Nalu, the merman prince, who has been kidnapped by the evil Laverna. It's up to Elina to stop them with the help of Nori, a headstrong mermaid who does not trust outsiders.
Aquamarine	2006	The title character is a mermaid (Sara Paxton) who is washed ashore after a violent storm. She decides to search for true love on land, and makes two good human friends (Joanna "JoJo" Levesque and Emma Roberts) along the way.
Legend of Sudsakorn	2006	The main character, Charlie Trairat, is the son of a mermaid who is sent on a magical quest to find his father, a prince.
Princess	2008	Starring Shileen Paton as a mermaid named Cala who lives under the pond.
Ponyo	2008	Japanese film directed by creator Hayao Miyazaki about a goldfish who wants to become a human girl due to her relationship with a young boy.
Bedtime Stories	2008	A mermaid appears in the book that Skeeter gives to Bobbi and Patrick.
Hoshisuna no Shima no Chiisana Tenshi (Mermaid Smile)	2010	Japanese film starring D-Boys members Tetsuya Makita and Masashi Mikami, and Riho Iida of Love Live! fame. The story is of a girl who is found washed up on the shore in a tourist area of Okinawa, and suspected of being a mermaid.
Barbie in A Mermaid Tale	2010	In this Barbie doll direct-to-video movie, Barbie stars as Merliah, a surfing champion from Malibu. One minute she's a normal teenager and the next she learns a shocking family secret: she's a mermaid! Merliah and her dolphin friend Zuma set off on an undersea adventure to rescue her mother, the queen of Oceana.
Empires of the Deep	2011	A human falls in love with a mermaid in a fantasy world.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides	2011	During his search for the Fountain of Youth, Jack Sparrow encounters several mermaids.
Barbie in A Mermaid Tale 2	2012	In this Barbie doll direct-to-video movie sequel, Merliah heads to Australia for the ultimate surfing competition. When the evil mermaid Eris escapes from her whirlpool, thanks to Kylie Morgan who steals Merliah's necklace, with plans to take Callissa's spot on the throne of Aquellia and get the power of Merilia, Merliah and her sea friends dive in to stop her.
Ice Age: Continental Drift	2012	In the cases of Sid the Sloth and Captain Gutt, the fishlike creatures called sirens shapeshift into a mermaid-themed sloth (mersloth) and a mermaid-themed ape (merape) and near the end of the film, the latter traumatizes the tyrant ape by eating him.
Barbie: The Pearl Princess	2014	In this Barbie doll direct-to-video movie Barbie stars as Lumina, a mermaid who dreams of being a princess. Lumina and her best friend Kuda, a pink seahorse, embark on an adventure to a majestic mer-kingdom. There, she discovers that her magic is the key to unlocking her true destiny and ultimately saving the kingdom.
Maidens of the Sea	2014	The second feature film by writer/director Kerri Kuchta, this film tells the story of a lonely sailor who discovers an island of mermaids.
Killer Mermaid	2014	Horror film directed by Milan Todorovic
The Lure	2015	Polish horror-musical film directed by Agnieszka Smoczyńska which chronicles two carnivorous mermaids who begin working as nightclub performers in 1980s Warsaw.
The Mermaid	2016	Chinese film starred by Lin Yun and directed by the Hong Kong comedian Stephen Chow.
The Legend of Sarila	2013	Features a mermaid-like goddess named Sedna.
Small Fry	2011	Part of the Toy Story Toons short animations. Buzz Lightyear meets a plastic mermaid named Neptuna who always carries her trident and sits on a rock.
My Fairy Tail Love Story	2018	A girl finds a rock while diving and becomes a mermaid.
Ozero myortvykh (The Mermaid: The Lake of the Dead)	2018	Russian horror film inspired by Slavic mythology directed by Svyatoslav Podgaevskiy.
The Lighthouse	2019	Several parts of the movie involve Winslow having visions of a mermaid, including having sexual intercourse with it.
Onward	2020	Mermaids in this film are portrayed to have ears that look like fish fins in addition to their fishlike tails. In the trailer, one of the mermaids is shown relaxing in an inflatable pool.
Ten-Cent Daisy	2021	The youngest of three sisters is secretly a mermaid with healing powers, although she can only take mermaid form in her home waters of the Caribbean. The movie also mentions African-Caribbean legends of the fate of prisoners thrown from slave ships.
Secret Magic Control Agency	2021	A white mermaid princess with blond hair tied in ox horns is found in one of the cages at the circus, so Agent Gretel foils the ringmaster and the two strongmen to set the mermaid free and she in return gives her metallic seashell pendant as part of her gratitude. She turns out to be the daughter of the golden-dressed mermaid queen who encounters Hansel and Gretel as children. There are also other colored mermaids who live in their own kingdom and all these mermaids can change their tails into legs depending on where they surface.
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken	2023	In this DreamWorks Animation film, mermaids are the evil, power-hungry enemies of noble, protective krakens.

Music

Sheet music cover for "Mermaids' Song" by Charles Kinkel, which was featured in the 1826 opera Oberon by Carl Maria von Weber

• In the 18th-century sea shanty, "The Keeper of the Eddystone Light", the singer's father is a lighthouse keeper and his mother is a mermaid.
• Alexander von Zemlinsky's symphonic poem Die Seejungfrau (The Mermaid), first performed in 1905 but then forgotten until its second performance in 1984, is based on Andersen's detailed fairy story. Zemlinsky briefly explained its plan to Arnold Schoenberg; a more detailed matching of story and music is provided by its second conductor, Peter Gülke.
• 1985 hit by French duo Les Rita Mitsouko, "Marcia Baila", includes the verse "...la sirène en mal d'amour" (A lovesick mermaid). The song's video clip includes a mermaid.
• Japanese musician Tatsuro Yamashita has a song entitled "Mermaid" in his 1986 album Pocket Music. The song is about a man encountering a mermaid during a summer day.
• In Finnish musician J. Karjalainen's song Merenneito ja minä ("Mermaid and Me"), he describes a wonderful tour in the underwater kingdom with a mermaid with whom he has fallen in love. In the song he is able to breathe under water due to the mermaid's magic medicine.
• Another Finnish song, Koskenlaskijan morsiamet ("Brides of Log Driver") is about a mermaid who falls in love with a skillful log driver. Unfortunately, he is already engaged to a human woman. When the mermaid sees her love riding the rapids with his human bride, she in a burst of jealousy raises a rock off the river bed, drowning them both. Seeing them drown and die, she immediately regrets her deed, and in the end of the song she is left weeping alone on the rock.
• Joanna Newsom's song "Colleen" tells the story of a girl from the sea who adapts to life on land, but is plagued by dreams and memories of her past. The song is told from the girl's perspective, and it is left open to interpretation whether or not she eventually returns.
• The music video for "Cherish" by Madonna includes several merman and a merman child.
• Another Madonna music video, Music had an animated Madonna turn into a mermaid while diving into a martini.
• In the music video for "Mermaid Sashimi" by Mexican singer Juan Son, a mermaid is in a restaurant ready for being cooked.
• The mermaiding performers of Weeki Wachee Springs appear in the 2005 music video for the track Low C by Supergrass.
• The Weeki Wachee Mermaids also briefly appear in the music video for the 2012 Kelly Clarkson song, Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You).
• The death metal virtual band Dethklok have a song called "Murmaider," about mermaid murder. In the second episode of the animated series Metalocalypse, the band state that fish had "no good metals to listens to" so they recorded The DethWater Album. "Murmaider" appeared as the first track of the band's real album, The Dethalbum.
• Sade appears as a lovestruck mermaid in the music video for her 1992 single "No Ordinary Love."
• The music video for Ricky Martin's song "She Bangs" features many mermaids.
• Among the outrageous claims made in the Lonely Island song "I'm On A Boat" is the claim by T-Pain that he has had sex with a mermaid. The video shows an African American mermaid in the background behind T-Pain as he sings this verse.
• Danish bubblegum singer Ni-Ni (Nynne Qvortrup) released an album in Japan and Denmark on February 16, 2001, called Mermaid which included the song "A Mermaid's Tale."
• Tori Amos references a mermaid in her song Silent All These Years. and was inspired by reading Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid story to her little niece, Cody.
• Lady Gaga dressed as a mermaid named Yuyi for the video for "You and I."
• Lana Del Rey released a song Mermaid Motel in 2010 on Del Rey's debut album, Lana Del Ray A.K.A. Lizzy Grant.
• In 2007, Japanese pop group SMAP recorded a song titled "Mermaid", which was originally intended as a single, but ended up being released as the 7th track of their 2008 Platinum album, Super Modern Artistic Performance. The song was used for Japanese media coverage of select swimming events during the 2008 Summer Olympics.
• "FT Nesli - Mermaid" sung by Turkish singer Neslihan Evrüz 2008 in English by Burak Yeter from the album Mermaid.
• Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies features a mermaid in the musical number "Beautiful/The Beauty Underneath".
• In 2011, Japanese group Aldious released a single, "Mermaid". The PV had one of the girls of the band as a mermaid.
• In 2011, Finnish symphonic power metal band Nightwish released Imaginaerum, which contained the song "Turn Loose the Mermaids".
• In 2012, French singer Nolwenn Leroy appeared as a mermaid on the cover of her album Ô Filles De L'Eau, and in the music video of her single "Sixième Continent."
• In 2012, American pop rock band Train released a new single titled "Mermaid" from their sixth studio album, California 37.
• The music videos for the Maroon 5 songs "What Lovers Do" (2017) with musician SZA, "Wait" (2018) with swimming team Aqualillies and "Lost" (2021) with model Behati Prinsloo as mermaids are looking on the band's frontman Adam Levine.
• The opera The Enchanted Island features mermaids in the end.
• The music video for the 2016 Twice song, "TT (song)" Chaeyoung is The Little Mermaid
• The music video for the 2018 song “Only You” by Cheat Codes ft. Little Mix features an LGBT narrative with a mermaid and a lonely girl.
• The 2020 humoristic song "Aquamann" by German satirical musician "King Krümel" features refrain Singer "Zirena" as mermaid.
• In the 2021 music video, "In the Morning" by Jennifer Lopez who transform into a mermaid.

Television

Show	Year	Notes
Stingray	1964	Includes stop-motion puppetry that features a mermaid named Marina. However, unlike typical mermaids she has no tail; instead, she swims with two legs and displays the ability to breathe underwater. Both more well known, and popularly known, are these particular character puppets also seen in the Thunderbirds series that was produced 1965–1966.
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea	1967	It has a story called "The Mermaid," (Season 3, Episode 77); at the opening of the episode one can see the mermaid unnoticed by Commander Lee Crane (David Hedison) go swimming by the S.S.R.N. Seaview submarine's monitoring window.
Night Gallery	1972	Episode 46, Season 2 called "Lindemann's Catch," with Rod Serling in his opening introductions, who also introduced The Twilight Zone series. A story about a sea captain whose desires are again awakened as he catches a mermaid on his little boat. As she has a tail from the waist down, she isn't of course quite what he wants. He seeks out a potion to change her into a complete woman. He gives her the potion and leaves her below deck. He expects that when he returns she will be a complete woman, but she is rather now having a fish torso. The analogy of the episode demonstrates a man's innate need for a woman - even as the captain is found grasping for her feet, now a horrendous malformed creature as she attempts to jump ship.
Danny and the Mermaid	1978	A pilot episode for a series that didn't get picked up. It was a 30-minute sci-fi comedy starring Ray Walston (famous for his previous successful series My Favorite Martian). Walston played Professor Stoneman, helping his student apprentice Danny Stevens (Patrick Collins) to be an oceanographer. Danny first learns of the mermaid, Aqua (Harlee McBride), a colorful blond mermaid with blue eyes and iridescent scales, when she swims by one of the portholes in their underwater lab. Later, he meets her and she communicates with them through a hatch on the lab's floor.
Mermaid Saga	1984–1994	A Japanese animation series in 3 to 4 volumes, depending on the country release distribution. It was based on the comic book by the same title which is a manga series by Rumiko Takahashi, which tells that when a person eats the flesh of a mermaid, they can gain immortality. In the United States, it has been dubbed into English except for its theme song which remains in Japanese. There are nine episodes in the American release (2003–2004): "Mermaid (Never) Smile", "The Village of Fighting Fish", "Mermaid's Forest", "Dreams End", "Mermaid's Promise", "Mermaid's Scar", "The Ash Princess", "Mermaid's Gaze" and "Mermaid's Mask".
Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch	2003–2004	A group of mermaid princesses who become pop singers to fight evil.
H2O: Just Add Water	2006–2010	Three teenage girls who, after encountering a mysterious sea cave, transform into mermaids in ten seconds whenever water touches any part of their bodies. In addition, they each have supernatural abilities over water in each of its forms: water, rain, floods, ice, snow, hail, cold, sleet, steam, mist and fog.
Mako: Island of Secrets	2013	A spin-off series of H2O: Just Add Water.
Baywatch	1989–2001	Marliece Andrada plays a mermaid in the episode "Rendezvous".
Charmed	1998–2006	In the 2002 fifth-season episode "A Witch's Tail", a mermaid (Jaime Pressly) enlists the help of main character Phoebe Halliwell (Alyssa Milano) to fight against a sea witch. Mermaid was a Charmed spin-off developed for The WB, since the theme of mermaids was recognized to have potential for its own series, and a one-hour pilot was filmed. However, after The WB and the UPN merged into The CW channel, the resulting network passed on the series.
Aquaman	2006	The main antagonist of the television pilot is Nadia (Adrianne Palicki), a killer siren/mermaid-like creature .
Legend of Heaven and Earth - The Mermaid Beauty	2000	The Taiwanese fantasy series, which shows various stories and legends from Asian mythology, depicts a story similar to Hans Christian Andersen's "Little Mermaid" in which the main protagonist is the mermaid daughter of an undersea sorceress who is trapped in a conch shell for centuries until freed. While disguised as human, she explores the outside world and falls in love with one of three princely sons. The story focuses on how she manages to protect both her love and the undersea land that she comes from. The series was shown on AZN Television shortly before the network's cancellation in 2007.
Flipper	1995–2000	In an episode, Dean (Scott Michaelson), finds a mermaid (Rachel Blakely) in one of his dives. Michaelson played a merman in Sabrina Down Under.
The Vision of Escaflowne	1996	In episode 14, Dryden Fassa helps a mermaid named Sylphy return to her home.
Pokémon	1997-current	Ash Ketchum's friend Misty appears as a mermaid in two episodes: "The Misty Mermaid" from Pokémon: Indigo League and "Cerulean Blues" from Pokémon Chronicles.
The Prince of Atlantis	1997	One of the main characters is Oya, a small mermaid resembling a ray.
Dyesebel	2008	A drama-fantasy series based on Mars Ravelo's creation in GMA Network in the Philippines. Marina is also a drama-fantasy series in ABS-CBN and Marinara is a comedy-fantasy series in GMA Network.
Bakugan	2009–2010	In this anime, Klaus's guardian Bakugan, Sirenoid, is a mermaid.
Renkin 3-kyū Magical? Pokān	2006	In the anime, a mermaid princess appears in episode 5, "A Tiring Spell Is a Trip to the Beach/Love's Spell Is a Trip to the Beach".
Faerie Tale Theatre	1982–1987	In an episode, Treat Williams and Pam Dawber help stage a production of The Little Mermaid that follows Andersen's story much more closely than the Disney film that came out three years later.
Dexter's Laboratory	1996–2003	In the episode "Ocean Commotion," while the family visit in the beach, Dee Dee (in a mermaid costume) gets kidnapped by some maniac sailors and Dexter and Moby Dick are the only ones to save her. This is a parody of Disney's The Little Mermaid, and of Moby Dick.
My Bride Is a Mermaid	2007	A boy named Nagasumi Michishio is saved by a mermaid named Sun Seto, but it is the mermaids' law, when a human sees a mermaid's true form, the human or the mermaid has to be killed. The only way to solve this problem for him is to marry her.
Cyberchase	2002–present	A mermaid character named Binary who lives in the Aquari-yum. She is green and purple and she tames several sea animals.
Magi-Nation	2007–2010	In one of the episodes, Edyn turns into a mermaid complete with aquatic fish ears, webbed hands and a mermaid's tail, and dives into the depth of the water with her friends. Some other characters are mermaids and one of them, Traptika, is very friendly.
Fantasy Island	1977–1984	Mermaids are occasionally depicted as being in conflict with Mr. Rourke (Ricardo Montalbán). Most notably Naya (portrayed by Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas fame), who appeared in two episodes in 1979 and 1980.
Sailor Moon R	1993–1994	The wicked mermaid Cardian Amphibia appears in "Raye's Day In The Spotlight" from Sailor Moon R.
Rupert	1991–1997	In one of the episodes, a young blond mermaid named Marina befriends the main protagonist Rupert Bear. Another episode features a merboy named Finian.
My Parents are Aliens	1999–2006	In an episode "The Tail of the Knitted Map", Sophie morphs into a mermaid.
Undersea Boy Marine	1969	Marine Boy has a friend named Neptina who is a young mermaid who has long flowing hair and wears a magic pearl around her neck.
Jake and the Never Land Pirates	2011–2016	In this Disney Junior series, a young mermaid named Marina befriends the young pirates and helps them on their adventures.
Sofia the First	2012–2018	This Disney Junior series features Merroway Cove, an underwater kingdom of merfolk including Queen Emmaline and her daughters Cora and Oona. Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid also makes an appearance in an episode of the series.
Black Cat	2005–2006	One of the main characters, Eve, uses nanomachines to give herself transformation abilities, and once she transforms into a mermaid.
Rosario + Vampire	2008	A band of mermaids makes up the school's Swim Club, where they lure the male students in to suck their life force for survival.
Zig and Sharko	2010	The French animation series features Marina the mermaid. Zig the hyena wants to eat her but her friend and bodyguard Sharko the shark protects her.
Sabrina the Teenage Witch	1996–2003	Sabrina and a friend turn into mermaids in the episode "Wiccan of the Sea". A similar event happens in the movie Sabrina: Friends Forever.
Kero Kero Chime	1997	The protagonists help a mermaid reach out to her prince, after gaining the ability to assume human form when dry, in three days or she will turn into sea foam.
Sgt. Frog	2004–2011	The main human male protagonist, Fuyuki, befriends a mermaid while she is in human form.
Tokyo Mew Mew	2002–2003	The character Lettuce can use mew power around her legs to form a mermaid-like tail to move underwater.
Dragonball	1986–1989	Goku has to meet Master Roshi's demand to bring a beautiful girl to him to receive his teachings; one of the girls he brings is a mermaid, much to Roshi's surprise.
Doctor Who	1963–present	In the sixth season, a mermaid or siren-like creature appears in the episode "The Curse of the Black Spot".
Once Upon a Time	2011–2018	Ariel (Joanna Garcia) debuts in season three of the ABC series. A pod of mermaids also attack The Jolly Roger. Ursula (Merrin Dungey; Tiffany Boone in her youth) debuts in season four.
Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry	2005	In the animated direct-to-video film, racer Steed Dirkly spots a mermaid on an island, but it turns out she is a Mirahna, a cannibalistic mermaid who feeds Steed to her offspring. She is a cross between a mermaid and a piranha, with a beautiful body, long orange hair, yellow sea-shells for a bra, a magenta fish tail, aquatic fish ears, and the head of a piranha.
Super Why!	2008	The Super Readers jump into the book of The Little Mermaid and the mermaid in the story is treated by the other people on the land
Yes! PreCure 5 (GoGo)	2008	The main 6 girls become mermaids in one of the episodes.
Wonder Pets!	2009	In one episode, the three titular class pets help a mermaid who wants to be a pirate
The Idle Mermaid (잉여공주)	2014	A tvN drama series.
The Legend of the Blue Sea (푸른 바다의 전설)	2016	A SBS's drama series.
Riptide	1984-1986	"Catch of the Day" (Season 2, Episode 3) involved a mermaid.
Fairy Tail	2009–present	The main female protagonist, Lucy Heartfilia, uses celestial spirits, one of which is a mermaid called Aquarius. Also, another character, Lisanna Strauss, uses animal-based transformations, and one of her tricks is to turn into a mermaid (in an anime-only episode). Furthermore, in the final arc, Lucy and another character, Brandish Mu, are temporarily turned into mermaids when Aquarius takes them to the Memory of the Stars to show them the truth about their mothers.
The Starry Night, The Starry Sea	2017	The Chinese drama series on Hunan TV features the love story of a merman and a young woman.
Smile Pretty Cure!/Glitter Force	2012	In episode 30 (25 in Glitter Force) in the series, the girls transform into mermaids, thanks to a Cure Decor/Glitter Charm.
Namiuchigiwa no Muromi-san	2013	Japanese anime comedy series
Monster Musume	2015	One of the main characters, Meroune Lorelei, is a mermaid.
Pinkalicious and Pinkalicious & Peterrific	2015 (book); 2020 (TV series)	One of the recurring characters, Aqua, is a mermaid (called a mermini), who lives in an aquarium named after her.
Love Live! Sunshine!!	2016-2017	In Episode 5 of the show, an imagination scene features the main character Chika Takami and four of the other members of Aqours as mermaids.
Shimmer and Shine	2017	In the Season 3 episode “Mermaid Mayhem”, Shimmer, Shine and Leah transform into mermaids and Zeta is a sea witch under the ocean of Zahramay Falls.
Siren	2018–2020
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power	2018-2020	Mermista, Princess of Salineas has water-based powers, including the ability to transform into a mermaid.
H2O: Mermaid Adventures	2015	An animated spin-off series of H2O: Just Add Water.
Ever After High	2013–2019	Meeshell Mermaid, daughter of the Little Mermaid.
Star Twinkle PreCure	2019	The Star Princess Pisces appears in the form of a mermaid. Also in Episode 27 of the series, the Cures become mermaids.
Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure	2021	One of the main cures, Laura/Cure La Mer, is a mermaid from Grand Ocean.
Xiaolin Showdown	2003-2006	In "Screams of the Siren", Dyris was a beautiful mermaid who sought to put the world underwater. She, however, only remained beautiful when she was in the water. On dry land, she returned into her true monstrous form.
El Chavo Animado	2006-2014	In the 2010 episode "Aventura Submarina (Submarine Adventure)" (episode 9 (87 of the entire series), season 4) El Chavo meets three kindhearted mermaid princesses during a vacation trip alongside the rest of his friends in Acapulco who offer to take him to their underwater kingdom after mistaking him for a teenage merman prince who has apparently gone missing but who returns shortly thereafter, explaining he only wished to explore the human world for a few days. Quico, Noño, Paty and La Popis also try to rescue El Chavo in a submarine after witnessing the mermaids submerging their friend near the beach. When the children try to tell the rest of their friends about their adventure, the adults of the group don't believe them and tell them it was only a dream.

• Many comedy series, such as Family Guy and Robot Chicken, satire mermaids' inability to reproduce without genitalia.
• In the Japanese tokusatsu television subgenre (and its Americanized counterpart), there are a few mermaid-based elements:
  • Dengeki Sentai Changeman (1985) is the design theme for the heroes of which was mythological creatures – Sayaka Nagisa (Hiroko Nishimoto) transformed into a white-colored ranger called Change Mermaid. Some of her attacks were based on underwater movement.
  • The short film Hikari Sentai Maskman (1987) features a mermaid named Lelai, who is tricked into using her beautiful singing voice to create earthquakes that would destroy the world.
  • In Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue (2000), Blue Ranger Chad Lee befriends and falls in love with a mermaid named Marina (Kamera Walton). She appears in only two episodes, "Ocean Blue" and "Neptune's Daughter"; the second time forced to lure the Lightspeed Rangers into a trap. (No mermaid appeared in the previous original 1999 Japanese series, Kyuukyuu Sentai GoGo-V.)
  • Mahou Sentai MagiRanger (2005) - Urara Ozu (Asami Kai) harnessed the power of the water Heavenly Saint Splagel, who is a mermaid; thus, Urara's MagiMajin form is MagiMermaid (whose legs can merge to allow her to swim underwater). However, when she upgrades halfway through the series into her Legend form, her body joins with her two older brothers and younger sister to form the Legendary Majuu MagiLion. Then in Power Rangers: Mystic Force which aired the following year, Madison Rocca (Melanie Vallejo) is the Blue Mystic Force Ranger. She draws her powers from an ancient titan who was shaped as a mermaid. Since the giant monster battle footage from PRMystic Force is taken directly from MagiRanger, Madison's giant Mystic Mermaid form mirrors that of Urara's MagiMermaid.
    • Madison's name is perhaps an intentional pun and tip of the hat since that was the name of the mermaid character played by Daryl Hannah in the 1984 film Splash.

• In the 1973-1974 anime 'Cutie Honey', one of Honey Kisaragi's transformations is a mermaid, which she uses to survive harsh weather conditions at sea.

Video games

• Aquaria – Players control the mermaid-like character Naija.
• Ariel and other characters from Disney's The Little Mermaid appear as supporting characters in the Kingdom Hearts video game series, a crossover between various Disney franchises and Square Enix's Final Fantasy franchise. Attina and Andrina, two of Ariel's mermaid sisters, make cameos in Kingdom Hearts II during its final musical number.
• One of the many bosses from Cuphead is Cala Maria, a gigantic mermaid who has a lot of sea creatures fighting by her side.
• Donkey Kong 64 – There is a blondheaded blue mermaid princess (with a silver tiara on her head) who lives in her seashell home at Gloomy Galleon and needs 5 pearls, so Tiny Kong is tasked to go small and retrieve the pearls for her so she can give her the Golden Banana.
• Double Dealing Character – In the fourteenth title of the Touhou Project series, a mermaid named Wakasagihime serves as the game's first boss. She has the ability to increase her strength when in water.
• Eliza was a second boss from Gokujo Parodius, made a cameo in Sexy Parodius in Stage 2, which a Pachinko of CR Gokujo Parodius, and Otomedius in Stage 1, voiced by Hitomi Nabatame.
• Feeding Frenzy and Feeding Frenzy 2 – A mermaid gives starfish for bonus points after successful levels.
• The Goonies II – The climax of the game involves rescuing a mermaid.
• Insaniquarium – The puzzle game published by PopCap Games features a mermaid named Meryl who appears as the hostess of the game. She also appears as a pet and her ability is that she sings, which makes the guppies drop more money.
• The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening – On Koholint Island, there is a mermaid named Martha who lives in a bay. She states that she has lost her necklace because of the ocean waves. After Link retrieves her necklace, Martha gives him a mermaid scale in return.
• The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass – Link encounters what he at first believes is a real mermaid, but later discovers she is a Hylian girl named Joanne who enjoys dressing up as a mermaid. She is involved in several side quests.
• In Nintendo's The Legendary Starfy series, a character named simply "Mermaid" is used to save the game. When the player character, Starfy, bumps into the shell she lives in, the game saves.
• Mega Man 9 – Splash Woman's design is based on the appearance of a mermaid.
• The Sims – Mermaids was introduced from The Sims 3: Island Paradise and The Sims 4: Island Living.
  • Mermaids are a new "life state" introduced in The Sims 3: Island Paradise and The Sims 4: Island Living.
• The Pokémon Primarina, a Water/Fairy-type, is based on both a mermaid and a sea lion.
• In the game No Straight Roads, Sayu, the second member of the Megastars, is a mermaid and a virtual pop idol. The heroes Zuke and Mayday battle her in Akusuka, the district of Vinyl City under her control.
• Puyo Puyo – The Japanese puzzle game series from Compile (later owned by Sega) features a mermaid named Serilly (Seriri in Japan) who believes that everyone is trying to eat her, due to the belief that eating mermaid flesh will grant immortality.
  • The mobile game Puyopuyo!! Quest features five additional mermaids as part of the Tropical Merfolk series in the game.
• Return of the Obra Dinn – This mystery game incorporates many naval myths of the 18th/19th century, including the myth of mermaids.
• Mermaids appear in Shantae games like Shantae and the Pirate's Curse and Shantae: Half-Genie Hero.
• The Marai creatures from the League of Legends lore, featuring Nami.

Professional wrestling

• In 2013, while signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (now Impact Wrestling), female wrestler SoCal Val did a photoshoot in costume as Disney's Ariel.

See also

• Fiji mermaid
• Goddess of the Sea (Visbal), sculpture
• Lorelei
• Sea monk
• Sirenia