Rizal was a 6th-generation patrilineal descendant of Domingo Lam-co (Chinese: 柯仪南;pinyin: Ke Yinan), a Chinese immigrant entrepreneur who sailed to the Philippines from Jinjiang, Quanzhou in the mid-17th century.[9] Lam-co married Inez de la Rosa, a Sangley native of Luzon. To free his descendants from the Sinophobic animosity of the Spanish authorities, Lam-co changed the surname to the Spanish "Mercado" (market) to indicate their Chinese merchant roots.
Hindi nila pinili ang araw ng kamatayan nina Lopez Jaena (Enero 20), Del Pilar (Hulyo 4), o ng Gomburza (Pebrero 17). Ang iba pa ay hindi kasindakila niya at hindi karapat-dapat ng isang natatanging araw ng pagkilala; kaya, ang mga pagpapakasakit ng iba pang mga bayaning Pilipino ay sumabay na lamang sa pinapaging-banal na araw niya.