Why Names Are Hard
Faces and names live in different parts of your brain
Faces and names are handled by different brain systems, and the link between them is often the weakest point. A specialized face-recognition network picks out someone's features almost instantly, while the name is stored separately, in your language regions, as a standalone label. Names are also arbitrary in a way most words aren't. "Elizabeth" is just a sound, connected to one specific person, with no semantic network to hold it in place. The face arrives immediately. The name often doesn't.
In real life...
When you learn a new name, use it immediately in conversation, "Nice to meet you, Sarah", and try to form a vivid association, like picturing someone you already know named Sarah standing next to them. Repetition within the first few moments strengthens the encoding that names desperately need.