When you meet someone for the first time you learn their name, but for your memory it is probably an arbitrary piece of information unconnected to anything else you know, and unconnected to all the other things you later learn about them. After your conversation, in which you probably learn about their job, and their hobbies, and their family or whatever, all this information becomes linked in your memory. Imagine you are talking to a guy with a blue shirt who likes fishing and works selling cars, but would rather give it up to sell fishing gear. Now if you can remember one bit of information ("sell cars") you can follow the chain to the others ("sells cars but wants to give it up", "wants to give it up to sell fishing gear", "loves fishing" and so on). The trouble is that your new friend's name doesn't get a look in because it is simply a piece of arbitrary information you didn’t connect to anything else about the conversation.

Fortunately, there are ways to strengthen those links so it does become entrenched with the other memories. Here's how to remember the name, using some basic principles of memory.

First, you should repeat any name said to you. Practice is one of the golden rules of learning: more practice makes stronger memories. In addition, when you use someone's name you are linking it to yourself, in the physical act of saying it, but also to the current topic of the conversation in your memory ("So, James, just what is it about fishing that makes you love it so much?").

Second, you should try to link the name you have just learnt to something you already know. It doesn't matter if the link is completely silly, it is just important that you find some connection to help the name stick in memory. For example, maybe the guy is called James, and your high school buddy was called James, and although this guy is wearing a blue shirt, high school James only ever wore black, so he'd never wear blue. It's a silly made up association, but it can help you remember.