JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Travis Etienne spent five years in Jacksonville, and apparently, no one ever pronounced his name correctly.
During a press conference with his new team, the New Orleans Saints, the former Jaguars running back said that people have mispronounced his name for years.
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It never should have been pronounced ETN. It should be said like AY-CHANE.
Say what?
“Growing up, it [was] Travis [Achane]. A-C-H-A-N-E. 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,” he said.
“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.”
Not even the pronunciation in game releases provided by the Jaguars were right. They listed Etienne’s pronunciation as ETN.
Etienne was a first-round pick in 2021 out of Clemson where he starred with Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence. He missed his rookie season after suffering a Lisfranc injury in the preseason but returned to play the next four seasons. Etienne rushed for 3,798 yards and 25 touchdowns in Jacksonville and added another 1,338 yards and seven touchdowns receiving.
He signed with the Saints in free agency, agreeing to a contract extension worth $52 million over four years. Etienne was born in Jennings, Louisiana, so his choice of teams in free agency feels like a homecoming.