The people of Somerset are mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle's entry for AD 845, in the inflected form "Sumursætum", and the county is recorded in the entry for 1015 using the same name. The archaic name Somersetshire was mentioned in the Chronicle's entry for 878. Although "Somersetshire" was in common use as an alternative name for the county, it went out of fashion in the late 19th century, and is no longer used possibly due to the adoption of "Somerset" as the county's official name after the establishment of the county council in 1889. As with other counties not ending in "shire," the suffix was superfluous, as there was no need to differentiate between the county and a town within it.
What was superfluous 
As with other counties not ending in "shire," the suffix was superfluous, as there was no need to differentiate between the county and a town