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The Cebuano people usually refers to those whose native tongue is Cebuano, but more specifically the people who live in the province of Cebu. The Cebuano are the largest subset of the Visayan ethnic group and the largest migrant Filipino ethnic group in Mindanao which, in turn, is the largest ethnic group of the Philippines.

The Cebuano language is the most common indigenous language spoken in the Visayas region. It is spoken particularly in Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor. It is also spoken in some parts of Leyte, Southern Leyte, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Lanao del Norte, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Camiguin, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur, Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat, as well as in Bukidnon. Estimates of Cebuano speakers range from 15 to 20 million. [1]

Other languages spoken, includes Spanish, English, Chinese, Chabacano (in Zamboanga del Sur), and Tagalog.

Linguistically and ethnically, Cebuanos are principally of Austronesian people descent. In major cities like Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Davao, some have Spanish and Chinese ancestries, as well as ancestries from other Filipino ethnolinguistic groups like the Tagalogs and Ilokanos. Cebuanos make up about 1/4 of the Philippines population, of about 85 million.

Much of the Cebuano culture has been influenced by the Spanish culture and indigenous Philippine traditions. The majority of its people belong to the Roman Catholic religion. However, chinese religion have slowly seeped in and formed part of the growing religious groups in Cebu. Evidence of this is the large number of Chinese temples found in the region.

The word Cebuano is a Spanish term derived from the Old Malay word Zugboanon. The name of Cebu was given to the Islands of Zugbo during the Spanish colonization of the Islands, which lasted for more than three centuries. The Cebuano people were among the first native inhabitants of the Philippine Archipelago to encounter Europeans and the first to be baptized as Roman Catholic by the Portuguese explorers and Spanish conquistadors.

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