The name Lida is derived from the name of the River Lidzeya. Its origin is associated with the Lithuanian name Lyda.
There are passing mentions of Lida in chronicles from 1180. Until the early 14th century, the settlement at Lida was a wooden fortress in Lithuania proper.
In spring 2001, the Jewish of Belarus worked closely with the residents of Lida to erect a memorial commemorating the thousands of Lida Jews that perished in the Holocaust.
Polish King Sigismund III Vasa granted Lida Magdeburg town rights in 1590, which were later confirmed in Warsaw by Kings Władysław IV Vasa in 1640 and Michael Korybut Wiśniowiecki in 1670 and by the Polish Sejm in 1776.
Lida Castle was built by the order of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas for protection against assaults by the Teutonic Knights.
From the Cold War to 1993, Lida was home to the 1st Guards Bomber Aviation Division of the Soviet Air Force.
Notable people of Lida David ben Aryeh Leib of Lida; Yitzchak Yaacov Reines; Konstanty Gorski; Andrzej Januszajtis; Stefan E. Warschawski; Pola Raksa & Aleksander Zyw.