When are you are talking to someone in real life you will usually get their name, and before you got their name you didnt know who they were. The name can be made available to a player once they have been introduced to their existence.
Imagine if you are in a gang and you want to attack someone in the opposing game. You get a file that has this players information, the name would appear above the player without you actually meeting them. You know what their face looks like. Since then dont know what you look like you can more realistically go after them with stealthness.
Socially you can learn peoples names too, if you are talking to someone and you get their name, it will appear above their name once it has been used around you or directly to you.
Social media could also help, you would learn about someone by clicking on their profile and seeing what they look like. But if no one ever looks at your social media page, no one will know who you are