The yellowtail scad was first scientifically described by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1833 based on a specimen taken from the Seychelles, which was designated to be the holotype. He named the species Caranx mate, thereby placing the species in a genus with a number of larger, deeper-bodied jacks. The species was subsequently redescribed and named many times, with most authors placing these "species" in other jack genera including Caranx, Decapterus and Selar. In 1906, Jordan and Seale produced one such name in the form of Decapterus lundini. Jordan later re-examined this taxon and decided it warranted its own, separate genus and thus created Atule, making Decapterus lundini the type species of the genus. With the taxonomic history of the species confused with numerous synonyms, it was not until 1953 that Herre concluded that D. lundini was a junior synonym of Cuvier's C. mate, thus giving the latter priority and creating the currently accepted name of Atule mate.
