Acanthaceae is commonly known as the Acanthus Family or Barleria Family. The Acanthaceae is a family from Lamiales Order, splits from Magnoliopsida Class. It is a family among about 406 families in Magnoliophyta or Flowering Plants Division. The family consists of 225 genera and more than 2,800 species distributed predominantly in tropical and subtropical regions of the world.

Acanthaceae was derived from the Greek word akantha meaning 'thorn'.