Cojuangco

Cojuangco (Chinese: 許寰哥; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Khó͘-hoân-ko; Southern Min pronunciation: [kʰɔ˥˧huan˨˦ko˦], Tagalog: [xɔ'hwɐŋko]) is the Hispanized Filipino-Chinese surname Kho (Hanzi: 許, pronounced [kʰɔ˥˧] in Hokkien and Xu [ɕỳ] in Mandarin).[1] The Cojuangco clan is among the most powerful and influential families in the Philippines, exercising economic control over several banks (such as Bank of Commerce) and trade houses, partly due to marriages with the Ayala and Roxas families and partly to their own business enterprises (notably the sugar trade).[2] The clan has at various time been highly involved in Philippine politics, with several members having entered public office in both local and national positions.

The clan is descended from Co Yu Hwan (許玉寰; Xǔ Yùhuán; Khó͘ Gio̍k-khoân; Quanzhou Hokkien literary: Hěu Ggiókhuán; colloquial: Koǒ Ggiákkuán), who migrated from Hongjian Village, Jiaomei Township, Zhangzhou, Fujian to the Spanish East Indies in 1861.[3] He was commonly called Kuán Goō (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Khoân ko "Brother Kuan") or Koǒ Kuán Goō (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Khó͘ Khoân ko / Khó͘ Hoân ko "Brother Koo Kuan") among Hoklo-Filipinos, and the latter was Hispanicized as Cojuangco. He adopted the Christian name José in 1865, when he moved to Bulacan.