Travis Etienne Reveals People Have Been Saying His Name Wrong For Years

Some say "po-tay-toe." Some say "po-tah-toe." Some say "to-may-toe." Some say "to-mah-toe." Some say "Travis E-T-N." Travis Etienne says, "Travis AY-chan."

The New Orleans Saints newest running back is setting the record straight as he enters his fifth NFL season and first outside of Jacksonville. The former Jaguar inked a deal to return to his home state, signing a four-year, $52 million deal in free agency.

Etienne was introduced to the media in New Orleans on March 13, when the Jennings, Louisiana, native was asked about his preferred name pronunciation.

Etienne then revealed that his name has been mispronounced for years.

"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."

The running back continued, adding that announcers had an easier time with the adopted pronunciation.

"It kind of took off because it was easier for the announcers to say it," Etienne said. "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."

Back home in Louisiana, Etienne won't have to worry about his name being lost in the translation. After all, he isn't the first running back in recent years to correct the record.

Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane shared in Sept. 2023 that he named is actually "duh-Von AY-chan," rather than the "A-Chain" pronunciation that was used in college.

Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson revealed that his first name is actually "Bih-Zhon" and not "Bee-Zhon," which is the more popularized version, though Robinson later clarified that he prefers "Bee-Zhon."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Travis Etienne pronunciation: Saints running back explains last name