Notable villages in the municipality included Akkarfjord, Forsøl, Kårhamn, and Rypefjord.

On 1 January 1963, another small area of Sørøysund (population: 33) was transferred to the town of Hammerfest.

The first element comes from the Old Norse word hamarr which means "stone" or "steep cliff", referring to a number of large rocks, good for mooring boats.

(These rocky areas were covered up in land reclaiming during the early post-war years.)

The last element comes from the Old Norse word festr which means "rope" or "fastening" (for boats).

The official blazon is "Azure, three boats argent two and one" (Norwegian: I blått tre sølv båter, 2-1).

This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is three boats; two smaller ones over one larger one.

The boats have a tincture of argent which means they are commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used.

The highest point in the municipality was the 1,078.35-metre (3,537.9 ft) tall mountain Seilandstuva on the island of Seiland.

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Sørøysund was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms.