The Gaelic surname Mac Somhairle means "son of Somhairle".[1] The personal name Somhairle is a Gaelicised form of the Old NorseSumarliðr[2] and Sumarliði.[3] The Old Norse Sumarliðr is composed of the elements sumar ("summer") and liðr ("seafarer").[1] As such, Sumarliðr and Sumarliði can be taken to mean "summer warrior",[4] "summer seafarer".[5]Anglicised forms of Mac Somhairle include: MacSorley,[6]McSorley,[1]Sorley,[7] and Sorlie.[7] Many settled in Ulster, hired as Gallowglass for Gaelic Kingdoms.
Hanks, P; Coates, R; McClure, P, eds. (2016b). The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Vol. 3. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-879883-5.
Hanks, P; Coates, R; McClure, P, eds. (2016c). The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Vol. 4. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-879884-2.
Hanks, P; Hardcastle, K; Hodges, F (2006) [1990]. A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-861060-1.
McCusker, PJ (1982). "Ballentaken: Beragh in the 17th Century". Seanchas Ardmhacha: Journal of the Armagh Diocesan Historical Society. 10 (2): 455–501. doi:10.2307/29740972. ISSN0488-0196. JSTOR29740972.
Reaney, PH (1995). Wilson, RM (ed.). A Dictionary of English Surnames (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-8631464.
Sellar, WDH (2000). "Hebridean Sea Kings: The Successors of Somerled, 1164–1316". In Cowan, EJ; McDonald, RA (eds.). Alba: Celtic Scotland in the Middle Ages. East Linton: Tuckwell Press. pp. 187–218. ISBN1-86232-151-5.