Onuf

Onuf is a surname and, less commonly, a given name used in Slavic-speaking regions. It is typically a shortened form of longer given names such as Onuphrius, Onufriy, or Onofrio, and appears in historical records in countries including Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and the Balkans. In English-language sources it often appears in transliterated form without diacritics.

One notable use of the name in science is Onuf's nucleus, a cluster of motor neurons in the sacral region of the spinal cord that innervate the external urethral and anal sphincters. It is named after a physician bearing the surname Onuf, and the term is used in neuroanatomy and neurology to discuss continence control and related disorders.

Outside anatomy, the name Onuf may occur in historical or genealogical contexts as a surname, and may be encountered as a shortened form of longer given names in various languages. Disambiguation or related names include Onuphrius, Onofrio, and Onuphriy, reflecting the name’s linguistic variants and its cross-cultural appearances. Although less common as a contemporary given name, Onuf persists in archival records and in discussions of etymology and onomastics.