Over the course of more than 236 hours of voice acting in Baldur\u2019s Gate 3<\/em>, no character in the game ever says Astarion\u2019s full name out loud. We know what his last name is<\/em> \u2014 the detail-loving fanbase has spent the last three years staring at \u201cAncun\u00edn\u201d on Astarion\u2019s gravestone. But we\u2019ve only been able to guess at how it\u2019s meant to sound, with many of us landing somewhere around \u201can-KYU-nin\u201d for an approximate pronunciation. That changed this week when a sample of the new tie-in audiobook Baldur\u2019s Gate 3: Astarion<\/em> gave us the first-ever chance to hear the name officially spoken \u2014 and by Astarion\u2019s voice actor Neil Newbon, himself. The sound bite has taken everyone off guard. According to the voice of Astarion, the correct pronunciation of “Ancun\u00edn” is something closer to “an-soo-neen.” The internet\u2019s divided on whether to take this new information in stride or to, with all due respect to Newbon, say the name the way we\u2019ve mostly agreed on since 2023.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Baldur\u2019s Gate 3: Astarion<\/em>, written by T. Kingfisher and narrated by Newbon, is a prequel novel following Astarion\u2019s years as a magistrate-turned-vampire-spawn under Cazador Szarr before the events of Baldur\u2019s Gate 3<\/em>. The book will be available on Sept. 29 through major book retailers, and the audiobook through platforms including Audible, Spotify, and library apps like Libby. A five-minute audio sample of the first chapter, which opens on Astarion bleeding out in an alleyway contemplating blood-tinged turnips as fashion inspiration, is out now.<\/p>\n The surname mix-up can be traced to the accent over the \u00ed, which can be hard to see when chiseled into a gravestone, to be fair. Commenters dissecting this news on X note that the accent is what softens “nin” into “neen” \u2014 and from there, how the “c” gets pronounced is really anyone’s guess, which is how you end up with camps split between “soo” and “koo.”<\/p>\n The book itself, and what we know about it so far, is causing its own stir among early listeners. Kingfisher consulted directly with Stephen Rooney, Astarion\u2019s original writer at Larian Studios, to keep the prequel feeling both true to the character and consistent with the larger game\u2019s lore. The result is a mixed bag of both confirmations and some other things that the Baldur\u2019s Gate 3<\/em> community may need to adjust to. The book may settle a years-old fan question by naming a \u201cdarling boy\u201d that Astarion references in-game as someone called \u201cSebastian,\u201d while other choices, like having Astarion call Cazador \u201cFather\u201d instead of \u201cMaster\u201d in the prequel, are a bit more contentious.<\/p>\n There are also brand-new characters to acquaint ourselves with: In Baldur\u2019s Gate 3: Astarion<\/em>, we meet an Aasimar paladin named Hahn den Suriel, an ally for Astarion during his prequel adventures. After the first five minutes of the audiobook, in which we hear Newbon cataloguing the aftermath of a disastrous day on the magistrate\u2019s bench, Astarion will surely need all the help he can get to navigate the book\u2019s events. But for now, we can focus on saying his name right. After Astarion spent all of Baldur\u2019s Gate 3<\/em> letting players mangle his last name, in very uncharacteristic silence, Newbon\u2019s here to set the record straight \u2014 assuming you\u2019re willing to accept his authority on the matter.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/screenshot-2026-04-23-at-11-47-49-am.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2\")
\n <\/picture>Image: Random House Worlds \/ Wizards of the Coast<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n