Suibne's patronym, meaning "son of "Cináed"", may indicate that he was a member of the royal Alpínid dynasty. For instance, the patronym could be evidence that he was a brother of the reigning Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Alba, or else a son of Cináed mac Duib, King of Alba. Suibne's career appears to have coincided with an expansion of the "Gall Gaidheil" along the south-west coast of what is today Scotland. This extension of power may have partially contributed to the destruction of the Kingdom of Strathclyde, an embattled realm which then faced aggressions from Dublin Vikings, Northumbrians, and Scots. The circumstances of Suibne's death are unknown, although one possibility could be that he was caught up in the vicious dynastic-strife endured by the Alpínids.