Travis Etienne returned to his Louisiana roots when he signed with the New Orleans Saints. And now he’s ready for the return of the correct pronunciation of his last name.

That’s right. It turns out Etienne’s last name is pronounced “Achane” — ay-chan — instead of the commonly pronounced “ETN.” The mix-up was never a problem when the 27-year-old grew up in Jennings. But when he got to Clemson for college, Etienne found that those around him constantly had trouble saying it, so he went with an alternate version. From there, it stuck, even for his first four years in the NFL.

But here, he can be himself again.

“I don’t have to correct people here on how to say my name each and every day,” Etienne said. “And I kind of love that. Just getting back to me.”

His name is not the only way Etienne is looking to reinvent himself. In New Orleans, Etienne wants to wear No. 3 after wearing No. 1 in Jacksonville, representing the third stop since first leaving Louisiana nearly a decade ago. He said he wants the jersey number to become his own, so much so that he hopes the Saints retire it when his career is over.

If that sounds like a stretch — the Saints haven’t even retired Drew Brees’ No. 9 yet — Etienne can be forgiven. He was fully caught up in the excitement that came with signing a four-year, $52 million deal to play for his favorite NFL team.

Etienne sees the deal as a “full-circle” moment. As a child, he and his brother Trevor would play on a hill and pretend they were Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush. Travis was Deuce. Trevor, also in the NFL as a running back for the Carolina Panthers, was Bush — or “Snush,” as a young Trevor was called because of his snaggletooth.

The Saints always resonated with Etienne. That’s why he named his son “Saint” when he was born 11 months ago.

“Whenever the Saints came available, whenever they let me know they were interested (in free agency), we let them know that we were interested, you know?” Etienne said. “So whenever the Saints came into play, it was really always the Saints.”

Etienne spurned interest from teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos to sign with New Orleans, but the homecoming wasn’t purely a nostalgic play.

The Saints committed to the contract they did because they believe Etienne can jolt their rushing attack. In three of his four seasons, Etienne rushed for more than 1,000 yards. But more so than the pure number, coach Kellen Moore noted Etienne’s film from this past season was “really, really good.”

“It felt like, schematically, it was a nice little marriage with what they were doing with Liam,” Moore said, referring to Jaguars coach Liam Coen. “Some of the run concepts they were doing and stuff we’d like to utilize. It felt like it was a good match.”

Etienne might not be the home-run hitter that other top running backs in the league are, but he has been efficient. His 4.3 yards per carry last season were higher than his expected yards per carry of 4.1, and he can be a threat in the passing game, both as a receiver and a blocker in protection.

“It was really tough to slow him down,” said new Saints guard David Edwards, who played against Etienne and the Jaguars in the postseason with the Buffalo Bills. “I’m excited because I know what type of player he is.”

When he learned that he was joining the Saints, Etienne said he told only his dad. He shied away from telling his mom directly because he knew how worked up she would get. Etienne recalled how, a day before free agency effectively began, his mother tried to sell him on joining the Saints even as rumors about the Broncos and Chiefs swirled on social media.

She reminded him that his great-grandmother was a Saints fan and how his family would always watch the team play every Sunday, Etienne said. Now, she can watch him play for the Saints, too.

That’s a responsibility Etienne takes seriously. On Thursday, he was at dinner at Mr. John’s steakhouse with quarterback Tyler Shough and a handful of his new teammates when he noticed the pictures of Brees and Bush on the walls.

He thought about how he’d love to have his picture there as well — but realized he would have to earn it.

“It took me a long time to figure out this is where I needed to be all along,” Etienne said. “It’s a full-circle moment. I’m happy to be here and I just want to be great.”