He was the son of William Meredyth Somerville, 1st Baron Athlumney and Maria Georgiana Elizabeth Jones, was baptised on 25 April 1865 at Kentstown, County Meath, Ireland, and was educated at Harrow School, Harrow on the Hill, London, England.
He succeeded to his family's titles on the death of his father, the first Baron Athlumney, on 7 December 1873.