The Phaethontiformes are an order of birds. They contain one extant family, the tropicbirds (Phaethontidae), and one extinct family Prophaethontidae from the early Cenozoic.

The scientific name Phaethontiformes comes from the Ancient Greek word Φαέθων (Phaethon), meaning "sun". The order's name is derived from the genus name Phaethon, which refers to the tropicbirds, so the full meaning connects to the "sun".