In 1383, Elbingen had its first documentary mention as "Elmennyngen" and once lay in the area of the Niederlahngau, the lordly domain of the Counts of Nassau. The name can be traced to the ancient name "Alaman", leading to the conclusion that there was an earlier Germanic settlement here. Only later did the name Elbingen come to be associated with the "Elb", the important Westerwald river that runs through the municipal area. In a document from 1383, "Friedrich von Elmennyngen" is named; however, no coat of arms from this middle-noble family has been handed down. Other noble families, such as von Hattert, von Reifenberg (arms red and silver) and von Dehrn had holdings here. The long era in which the House of Nassau held sway was interrupted in 1564 when the parish of Salz, and thereby Elbingen, passed to the Electorate of Trier. By 1806, however, Elbingen passed back to Nassau and belonged until 1866 to the Duchy of Nassau, and thereafter to the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau. The civic arms bear a golden lion armed and langued gules ("ie" with red claws and tongue) on a blue field, which was the charge seen on the arms borne by the Counts of Nassau. This refers to the great span of time when the community was under Nassau’s sway.