Khouw (surname)

Khouw (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Khó) is a Dutch-based romanization of the Hokkien surname Xǔ (許) in West Java, Indonesia. In Central and East Java, Kho is a more common romanization.

Several (unrelated) families of this surname include:

• The Khouw family of Tamboen, part of the Cabang Atas or the traditional Chinese establishment of colonial Indonesia:
  • Luitenant Khouw Tian Sek, a landlord in the Dutch East Indies and patriarch of the Khouw family of Tamboen
  • Luitenant Khouw Tjeng Kee, a landlord
  • Luitenant Khouw Tjeng Tjoan, a landlord
  • Luitenant Khouw Tjeng Po, a landlord
  • Oen Giok Khouw, a prominent philanthropist and landowner in the Dutch East Indies
  • Kapitein Khouw Yauw Kie, a bureaucrat and landlord in the Dutch East Indies
  • Majoor Khouw Kim An, a high-ranking Chinese Indonesian bureaucrat, public figure and landlord in the Dutch East Indies
• The Chinese-Indonesian millionaire Khouw Kim Goan's family of the late colonial era:
  • Khouw Keng Nio, pioneering aviator and businesswoman
  • Khouw Khe Hien, pioneering aviator and businessman