Photo: Getty Images
Newly signed New Orleans Saints running back Travis Etienne Jr. finally revealed the correct way to pronounce his name.
Etienne, 27, a Louisiana native who signed with the Saints this week after spending his entire NFL career with the Jacksonville Jaguars, said his surname is actually pronounced like "Achane", but was commonly mispronounced as "E-T-N" when he enrolled at Clemson in 2017 and eventually he gave up on correcting people.
"Growing up it's Travis Etienne – so it be like A-C-H-A-N-E. And that's how you always say it," Etienne said. "Travis AY-chan. When I went to college, I kept telling them my name every day, every day, every day. Like after four weeks they just couldn't get it. So I'm like, man, it's E-T-N. Like how you see it is how you say it. And that's how that became."
"It kind of took off because it was easier for the announcers to say it," he added. "I didn't have to correct them every day to say my name and when I kind of just started learning more about my last name and how it came about and things like that it just kind of stuck, it made sense. I'm very much open to being Travis AY-chan again. Being myself, I don't have to correct people here on how to say my name each and every day, and I kind of love that."
Etienne signed a four-year, $52 million deal, which includes a $13 million average annual salary, to join the home state Saints. The former Clemson standout was selected by the Jaguars at No. 25 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft and, after missing his entire rookie year due to injury, recorded more than 1,000 yards during three of his next four seasons, which included 1,107 yards and seven touchdowns on 260 rushing attempts, as well as 36 receptions for 292 yards and a career-best six receiving touchdowns in 2025.