The first part seems to be the same as in place names such as Irún or Iruña (Pamplona), and it has been traditionally associated with the word hiri o (h)ili (town) in Basque.

The inhabitants of Lumbier are generally erroneously referred to as "gatos" ('cats'); the correct expression is "ahorcagatos" (cat-hangers'), which dates back to the Spanish War of Independence, when a number of French sympathisers from Madrid ("cats") were caught trying to flee to France and they were hanged here.

The castle is flanked by an eight-pointed star sinister and a reversed crescent argent dexter.The ancient seal of the village has, in addition to those items just mentioned, a crescent sinister and a star dexter to the central tower, and appears in the Charter of Union (Carta de Unión) which was signed by all the towns and villages of Navarre at Puente la Reina in 1328.

[4] Two deep gorges(Foz) with rock faces of up to 300 metres high have been created by the Rivers Salazar and Irati in the foothills of the Sierra de Leire.

The surrounding area consists of a wide valley with wheatfields, low Mediterranean countryside and Holm oak woods.