Despite a complete absence from the primary texts, some later Victorian folklorists attempted to ascribe certain attributes to Danu, such as association with motherhood or agricultural prosperity.
[1][a][2][3] The hypothetical nominative form of the name, *Danu, is not found in any medieval Irish text, but is rather a reconstruction by modern scholars based on the genitive Danann (also spelled Donand or Danand), which is the only form attested in the primary sources (e.g. in the collective name of the Irish gods, Tuatha dé Danann "Tribe / People of Danu").
[2] In the Lebor Gabála Érenn (The Book of the Taking of Ireland), it is noted the Tuatha dé Danann get their name from Danand and Delbáeth's three sons: Brian, Iuchar, and Iucharba.
[2] Some texts list Danu as a bantúathach (witch or sorceress) or bandrúi (female druid) of the Tuatha Dé Danaan.
[2] She has possible parallels with the Welsh legendary figure Dôn in the medieval tales of the Mabinogion, whom most modern scholars consider to be a mythological mother goddess.