Columbidae is the only family in the order Columbiformes. The family consists of doves and pigeons. The family contains 344 species divided into 50 genera. Thirteen of the species are extinct.

Pigeon is a French word that derives from the Latin pīpiō, for a "peeping" chick;
Dove is an ultimately Germanic word that refers to the bird's diving flight.
A group of doves is called a "dule", taken from the French word deuil ('mourning').
Middle English: culver, from Old English culufre, culfre, culfer, possibly borrowed from Vulgar Latin *columbra, from Latin columbula (“little pigeon”), from Latin columba (“pigeon, dove”).
Columba: Latin columba (“dove, pigeon”). Ancient Greek κόλυμβος (kólumbos, “a diver”), from κολυμβάω (kolumbáō, “dive, plunge headlong, swim”).