The species was first scientifically described by the American ichthyologist Samuel L. Mitchill in 1815, based on a specimen taken from the waters of New York Bay, USA which was designated to be the holotype. He named the species "Scomber crysos" and suggested a common name of 'yellow mackerel', with the specific epithet reflecting this, meaning "gold" in Greek. The taxon has been variably placed in either "Caranx", "Carangoides" or "Paratractus", but is now considered valid as "Caranx crysos". The species has been independently redescribed three times, first as "Caranx fusus", which is still incorrectly used by some authors (occasionally as "Carangoides fusus"), and later as "Caranx pisquetus" and "Trachurus squamosus". These names are considered invalid junior synonyms under ICZN rules. The species has many common names, with the most common being 'blue runner'. Other less commonly used names include 'bluestripe jack', 'Egyptian scad', 'hardtail jack', 'hardnose', 'white back cavalli', 'yellow tail cavalli', as well as a variety of broad names such as 'mackerel', 'runner' and 'crevalle'.