Travis Etienne, Jr. lets the cat out of the bag about a secret that almost no one knew during his time in Jacksonville

The ex-Jag is closer to home in New Orleans, and he made a revelation to many about his name.

Craig Smith — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer
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The letters E-T-N became synonymous with running back Travis Etienne, Jr. over the first four years of his NFL career in Jacksonville. He helped the Jaguars rise from NFL afterthought to the playoffs as AFC South champions in two of his four seasons in Northeast Florida.

But now, the Jags’ former first round pick is off closer to home, signing with the New Orleans Saints this week in free agency.

Etienne is a native of Louisiana, hailing from Jennings. As such, his name had a unique pronunciation that was not ETN. And during his Friday press conference, he revealed how his name is supposed to be pronounced, an effort he gave up on correcting during his early days at Clemson.

Travis Etienne, Jr. says his name is pronounced Travis ‘Achane’, which he stopped using at Clemson

“So, growing up, it was Travis Achane,” Etienne said. “So it was like A-C-H-A-N-E. And that’s how you always say it, Travis Achane.

“But when I went to college, I kept telling them my name like every day, every day, every day. And after like 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. So that’s how that became. And it kind of took off because it was easy for announcers to say it. I didn’t have to correct them every day to say my name.

“And just 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 and made sense. But I’m very much open to being Travis Achane again, just 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. And that’s just, just get back to me.”

The letters ETN were used often by fans, media, and the Jags organization itself on its social media accounts in recognizing the accomplishments of Etienne on the field.

Now, it seems as though, perhaps those letters and pronunciation won’t be a part of the coverage around Etienne moving forward.

Of course, we have an Achane in the NFL already in the Miami Dolphins’ De’Von Achane, who’s become a household NFL name over his first three years, so it won’t be a completely new name.

But it certainly will be odd to see the former Jaguar making plays in the league without ETN being attached to them.

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