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A little poking around finds that the name Ethne, sometimes accented Ethné, has a possible origin in early Christianity.

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Ethné (from ethnos) apparently meant "foreign nations" in Greek. It was used as a translation of the Hebrew "goyim," which means the "gentile peoples." These phrases meant "not Jewish" to the Jews and then "neither Jewish nor Christian" to the Christians. In English, ethnos/ethné is the root of the words "heathen" and "ethnic."

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This all seems rather an odd origin for a Christian girls name, but Greek words and names were, for a time, all the rage in the English and French learned-class. It is possible that the name Ethné slipped under the door, as it were, due to its similarity to Ethan or some such.

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And there is no doubt that the name Ethne is an also an Anglicization of the Irish-Gaelic name Eithne. Eithne is pronounced [EN-yah] because it follows the rules of the Gaelic language, not English.

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But Ethne, no matter the language from which it came, is pronounced in English as is natural. Some might say [ETH-nee] and others [ETH-neh]. I presume the accented Ethné is naturally French, but it may be an affectation.

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Now, I've not seen the movie nor read the book, so I can't speak with absolute certainty. If I was to guess, I assume the character's name in this English period-piece would be sourced back to the Greek rather than the Gaelic.

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