Named in 1893 by John W. Taylor, a Mormon general authority from Salt Lake City, Utah, because one of the surrounding hills looked like Mount Etna, a volcanic mountain in Sicily for which a district in Italy is named. The spelling of Aetna is a modification of the original, and the hill to which Taylor was referring is now locally known as "Buffalo Hill." C.O. Card noted a store, school, etc., at Aetna, the centre of the district in 1898. The Aetna post office was established on this site 1 November 1900.

Approximately 68 km south-west of Lethbridge.