In Irish mythology

Irish mythology

The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...

, Nechtan was the father and/or husband of Boann

Boann

Boann or Boand is the Irish mythology goddess of the River Boyne, a river in Leinster, Ireland. According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn she was the daughter of Delbáeth, son of Elada, of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Her husband is variously Nechtan, Elcmar or Nuada. Her lover is the Dagda, by whom she had...

. He may be Nuada under another name, or his cult may have been replaced by that of Nuada. Only he and his three cup-bearers were permitted to visit the well of Segais

Connla's Well

In Irish mythology, Connla's Well is one of a number of Otherworldly wells that are variously depicted as "The Well of Wisdom", "The Well of Knowledge" and the source of some of the rivers of Ireland.Much like the Well of Nechtan , the well is the home to the...

, into which nine sacred hazel

Hazel

The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...

 trees dropped their wisdom-bearing nuts. When Boann visited the well, it overflowed and chased her to the coast, forming the river Boyne

Boyne

Several terms incorporating the word "Boyne" include:* Boann, the Irish goddess after whom the river is named* Boyne River * Boyne Falls, Michigan,* Boyne Resorts, a ski resort company in Michigan...

.

The name 'Nechtan' is perhaps cognate with that of the Romano-British god Nodens

Nodens

Nodents is a Celtic deity associated with healing, the sea, hunting and dogs. He was worshipped in ancient Britain, most notably in a temple complex at Lydney Park in Gloucestershire, and possibly also in Gaul...

 or the Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 god Neptune

Neptune (mythology)

Neptune was the god of water and the sea in Roman mythology and religion. He is analogous with, but not identical to, the Greek god Poseidon. In the Greek-influenced tradition, Neptune was the brother of Jupiter and Pluto, each of them presiding over one of the three realms of the universe,...

, and the Persian and Vedic gods sharing the name Apam Napat

Apam Napat

Apam Napat is an eminent figure of the Indo-Iranian pantheon. In Hinduism, Apām Napāt is the god of fresh water, such as in rivers and lakes...

.http://www.avesta.org/modi/baku.htm It may also be cognate to the Swedish mythological being Näcken

Nix

The Neck/Nixie are shapeshifting water spirits who usually appear in human form. The spirit has appeared in the myths and legends of all Germanic peoples in Europe....

, who dwells near wells and springs.

Nechtan

Nechtan

Nechtan, Nectan or Neithon may refer to:Kings:* Nechtan Morbet , king of the Picts* Nechtan nepos Uerb , king of the Picts* Nechtan mac Der-Ilei , king of the Picts...

 or Nectan became a common Celt

Celt

The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....

ic name and a number of historical or legendary figures bear it. The name MacNaughton derives from "MacNeachdainn", the son of Nechtan.