(sea) and kyon (born). In Greek mythology the gods gave the halkyons the ability to calm the waters when nesting. In Greek mythology, one of the Pleiades named Alcyone (Alcedo in Latin) married Ceyx who was killed in a shipwreck. Alcyone drowned herself in grief and the gods revived them both as kingfishers.

The phylogenetic relationship between the kingfishers and the other five families that make up the order Coraciiformes is shown in the cladogram below. The number of species