The modern name is from the Old Norse súla, "gannet" and sker, "skerry".
In the 16th century Dean Munro referred to the island as "Suilskeray".
Macculloch's 1819 Description refers to "Sulisker", an Anglicised spelling that is still occasionally used.
There is Suleskjer, a skerry in Utsira, Norway which has a name with a similar origin; there is also a Sule Skerry in Orkney.
The modern name is from the Old Norse súla, "gannet" and sker, "skerry". In the 16th century Dean Munro referred to the island as "Suilskeray". Macculloch's 1819 Description refers to "Sulisker", an Anglicised spelling that is still occasionally used. There is Suleskjer, a skerry in Utsira, Norway which has a name with a similar origin; there is also a Sule Skerry in Orkney.
Sula Sgeir