Nudd's son Gwyn (ruler of the Welsh Otherworld), his name meaning 'white', is an exact cognate of the Irish name Finn, who is described as the great-grandson of Nuadu mac Achi (Finn mac Umaill) or Nuadu Necht (Finn File). Although the origin of the association remains difficult to explain, Carey writes that Nodons may be seen "a god of multi-faceted but consistent character: a shining royal warrior presiding over the chaotic in nature, society and the Otherworld (water, war, the devils of Annwn)." In this view, the Middle Irish núada, núadu ('hero, champion, king [poetic]?')eDIL, s.v. núada, ? núadu, dil.ie/33328. may be interpreted as the euhemerized name of the Celtic deity, with a semantic shift comparable to that conjectured for Proto-Germanic *balþaz > *Balðraz ('white, shining' > 'strong, brave, bold' > 'hero, prince'; cf. Old Norse Baldr 'brave, defiant, lord, prince' and Old English Bældæg 'shining day').
