The Labridae (wrasses and parrotfishes) is the seventh largest family of ray-finned fishes, contains ~630 species in 88 genera. Consistently in the top five families for species richness and local abundances on coral reefs around the world, they have been the focus of much ecological, evolutionary and biogeographic research. Although incompletely sampled in phylogenetic reconstructions, progress over the last 15 years has led to phylogenies representing all major lineages, 84% of genera, and ~50% of species. Several genera remain non-monophyletic in these phylogenies, but few attempts have been made to resolve this conflict with taxonomy. Here, we examine new and previously published sequence data (Rag2, S7, 12S, 16S) for two of the largest non-monophyletic genera: Halichoeres and Coris. We explore this new phylogeny and propose new generic delineations that may provide a robust taxonomy for these lineages. We also explore the biogeographic history of Coris and the Old-World Halichoeres clades used a fossil-calibrated chronogram. A completely resolved phylogeny for any taxa is critical to understand its evolutionary origins and its diversity across assemblages. We provide a stepping stone on the path to a fully resolved tree of life for wrasses, one of the most diverse families of coral reef fishes.