Christians started using this symbol during the first three centuries after Christ. This was the time when many Christians were being persecuted. Some say that when a believer met a man, he drew a curved line resembling half of a fish. If the other man was a follower of Christ as well, he would complete the lower half with another curved line to create a simple drawing of a fish.

This symbol was meant to pertain to Jesus Christ, who was said to be “a fisher of men.” Other historians believe that the symbol stemmed from the word “Ichthys,” whose first letters could mean Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter, an acrostic for 'Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior.' This symbol is still used, until now, by Christians all over the world.