Los Baños, Laguna
municipality of the Philippines in the province of Laguna
Los Baños (IPA: [lɔs bɐˈɲɔs]), officially the Municipality of Los Baños (Tagalog: Bayan ng Los Baños), colloquially 'Elbi' or simply LB, is a municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 117,030 people.
It was declared as the Special Science and Nature City of the Philippines through Presidential Proclamation No. 349. The proclamation, however, does not convert the municipality to a city or give it corporate powers that are accorded to other cities due to Los Baños being a suburb of neighboring Calamba.
Etymology
Los Baños is derived from Spanish for "the baths", also referring to the hot springs. It was named as such in 1589 when Fr. Pedro Bautista built public baths in the present-day town.
History
Spanish colonial era
The town of Los Baños derives its name from the thermal baths found within its territory. Formerly known as the barrio of Maynit, meaning “hot”, the area was a visita called San Nicolás de Tolentino under the jurisdiction of the town of Bay during the administration of the Augustinian friars.
The public source identifies “Los Baños, Laguna” as municipality of the Philippines in the province of Laguna. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Baños, Laguna and municipality.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Los Baños, Laguna”, the useful work is to connect “municipality of the Philippines in the province of Laguna” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q69793. VIAF identifies the subject as 157106570. The Library of Congress control number is n80106922. Authority coordinates are 14.167, 121.217. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2024 and 1589.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “Los Baños, Laguna” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.