Caulophryne jordani was first formally described in 1896 by the American ichthyologists George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean with its type locality given as the Gulf Stream off Long Island, New York at 39°27'N, 71°15'W, Albatross station 2747 from a depth between 0 and 1,276 fathoms (0 and 7,656 ft; 0 and 2,334 m).

The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the Caulophrynidae within the suborder Ceratioidei of the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes.

[4] Caulophryne jordani is a species within the genus Caulophryne, this name is a combination of caulis, which mean" stem", an allusion to the stem-like base of the illicium, with phryne, meaning "toad", a suffix commonly used in the names of anglerfish genera.

Its use may date as far back as Aristotle and Cicero, who referred to anglerfishes as "fishing-frogs" and "sea-frogs", respectively, possibly because of their resemblance to frogs and toads.

The specific name honours the American ichthyologist, educator, and eugenicist David Starr Jordan, the president of Leland Stanford Jr University in California, in recognition of his work in the field of ichthyology.

The lower jaw reaches back past the base of the pectoral fin.

The sensory cells of the lateral line system are at the tips of the filamentous rays of the dorsal and anal fins.

The appendage on the side of the esca near its front has many short filaments and has a palmate and opaque tip.