The goatfishes are perciform fish of the family Mullidae. The family is also sometimes referred to as the red mullets, which also refers more narrowly to the genus Mullus.
The family name and the English common name "mullet" name are derived from Latin mullus, the red mullet; but other than the red mullet and the striped red mullet or surmullet, the English word mullet generally refers to a different family of fish, the Mugilidae or grey mullets.