Well asking for someone's name from the person themselves hold a lot more meaning than hearing it from others,but again i don't think you should visit nor let them visit your home without knowing their name first though...
After all these years of reading manga I still don't understand why no one knows each other's personal names. Like i get it's a personal thing in Japanese culture but at some point don't you have to write your whole name or have an ID or get called for something idk.