According to the early residents of the town, it was initially named Lia, after the leader of the first group of Chinese traders who settled there.

[5] Lian was founded in 1760 by Chinese traders who settled in the area.

[6] On December 28, 1914, Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison signed Executive Order No.

127, separating Lian from Nasugbu to restore its independent municipality status effective January 1, 1915 by first mayor Kapitan Isko.

It is located at the western shore of Batangas, facing the Nasugbu Bay.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 76.80 square kilometers (29.65 sq mi) [8] constituting 2.46% of the 3,119.75-square-kilometer (1,204.54 sq mi) total area of Batangas.

Current officials as of 2022: Lian is plied by public transportation such as jeepneys, tricycles, and buses.