Originally the town was called Villamayor de Marquina, but it had been founded in a place called before Elgoibar field. The town came to be known by this name a few centuries of its foundation. Until the mid-15th century it appears in the documentation as Villamayor de Marquina, but in the statutes of the Brotherhood of Gipuzkoa of 1457 and 1463 years appears with the Elgoibar name and it has prevailed until today.
Elgoibar name has been used in Spanish and in Basque in order to refer to the small town. The only difference is that in Spanish the name Elgoibar has an accent mark above its "o".
Elgoibar etymologically comes from the Basque language and is possibly composed of the word elge (meaning "field", usually cultivated), and iba - a word which means "valley" or "plain". Therefore, "elge ibar" would be a similar term to "vega" or "a cultivated field". This etymology would fit quite well with the mention of Elgoibar field that appears in the settlement charter of the town.
Economy
Since the very beginning of the establishment of the town, its industrial nature was very relevant. The king kept for himself the strip mining of the minerals such as gold or silver, and the ironworks production. As Tomás López described in 1800 "The industrialization transformed that protoindustry, on a machinery tools factories network; like this is how this village turned into being the "capital city of the Machine Tool".
Main companies
The following list includes companies that are located in Elgoibar, and that have at least an staff of 50 people according to the Basque Industry catalog:
Alcorta Brockhaus, S.A.: Manufacturer of components of forged steel for the automotive industry.
AVS Added Value Solutions: Designing and manufacturing equipment for the industry of science and machine tool industry.
Bernardo Ecenarro, S.A.: Manufacturing paints and special covers for the automotive industry
Doimak: Manufacturing rectifier machines
Engranajes Grindel, S.A.: Manufacturer of gears.
Etxe-Tar, S.A.: Machine Tool Industry
Local Festivities
Church of San Bartolomé, Elgoibar
Elgoibar celebrates festivity in honor of its patron; San Bartolome and San Anton. The latter is the patron of the villa. In addition, there are a number of celebrations that are celebrated in unison of the region or the country such as San Blas, Carnivals or the Eve of St. Agatha. There is cattle fair the last Saturday of each month and specially the last Saturday of the year, Gabon Zahar Feria.
San Anton festivity, second landlord of the town, on 17 January.
San Bartolome, the patron of Elgoibar, on 23 August.
San Juan festivity, on 23 June.
Local Traditional folk dance members in front of Elgoibar City Hall
Then, there are smaller celebrations in the rural districts and the hermitages like the pilgrimage of Santiago Sargoate day.
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