METAIRIE, La. — New Orleans Saints running back Travis Etienne is setting the record straight on his last name.
Etienne, who is from Jennings, Louisiana, said his name was pronounced like “Achane” growing up. When he enrolled at Clemson in 2017, he was constantly correcting people who pronounced it “ETN.” Etienne said he gave up trying to change it and accepted the alternate pronunciation.
PSA: Travis Etienne Jr. on how to pronounce his last name pic.twitter.com/UNfFdXcrCg
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) March 13, 2026
“Growing up, it [was] Travis [Achane]. A-C-H-A-N-E,” he said on Friday. “That’s how they always said it, Travis [Achane]. But when I went to college, I kept telling them my name, like, every day, every day, every day. After like four weeks, they just couldn’t get it. So I’m like, ‘Man, it’s [ETN]. How you see it is how you say it.’ That’s how that became, and it kind of just took off because it was easier for the announcers to say it, I didn’t have to correct them every day [how] to say my name. Just when I kind of started learning more about my last name and how it came about … it just kind of stuck, it made sense.”
Etienne is ready to return to his roots after signing with the Saints this week. Etienne signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the Saints after playing five seasons for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“I’m very much open to being Travis [Achane] again, just being myself,” Etienne said. “I don’t have to correct people here on how to say my name each and every day. And I kind of love that. Just getting back to me.”
