What's in a name?

And why can't I remember them?

I have always had the toughest time remembering names, especially in situations where I'm meeting a lot of people - like say, a conference. The name tag hasn't been invented that is large enough or well-positioned enough to be much of a help to me. I'm always caught trying to discreetly read the name, but it always looks like, well, I'm trying to read the name.

I've toyed with the usual tricks: repeating the name after someone introduces themselves and mnemonic devices (which often get me into trouble), but nothing seems to work. Faces, I remember. I just can't seem to hook a name to 'em.

Doubly-worse are non-Anglo names. I'm in Los Angeles attending the Episcopal AsiaAmerica Convocation, and you can imagine the time I'm having with names of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Southeast Asian, Filipino origins. By not remembering a name, it appears that I don't feel the person is important, but that's not the case at all.

Any suggestions?