diff --git a/src/nostr/client.rs b/src/nostr/client.rs
index 7abe4b30..8dcbe63f 100644
--- a/src/nostr/client.rs
+++ b/src/nostr/client.rs
@@ -660,8 +660,31 @@ impl NostrService {
 			let Ok(pk) = PublicKey::from_hex(&hex) else {
 				return;
 			};
-			// Check the handle they currently advertise; if the kind-0 can't be
-			// fetched, fall back to the cached handle so a release is still caught.
+			let Ok(rt) = tokio::runtime::Builder::new_current_thread()
+				.enable_all()
+				.build()
+			else {
+				return;
+			};
+			// Primary: ask the home authority directly what @name this key holds.
+			// One HTTP round-trip, authoritative, and independent of whether we can
+			// fetch their kind-0 off a relay (the fragile leg) — this is what
+			// makes a contact's name show on the FIRST interaction.
+			let home = crate::nostr::nip05::home_domain();
+			if let Some(name) = rt.block_on(crate::nostr::nip05::name_by_pubkey(&home, &hex)) {
+				let nip05 = format!("{}@{}", name, home);
+				if let Some(mut c) = svc.store.contact(&hex) {
+					if apply_nip05_check(&mut c, &nip05, crate::nostr::nip05::Nip05Check::Verified)
+					{
+						svc.store.save_contact(&c);
+					}
+				}
+				return;
+			}
+			// Fallback: the handle they advertise in their kind-0 (covers FOREIGN
+			// authorities the home reverse-lookup can't speak for); if the kind-0 can't
+			// be fetched, fall back to the cached handle so a release is still caught.
+			// This path can also CLEAR a released/reassigned name.
 			let advertised = svc
 				.fetch_profile_blocking(&hex, &hints)
 				.and_then(|p| p.nip05);
@@ -671,12 +694,6 @@ impl NostrService {
 			let Some((name, domain)) = nip05.split_once('@') else {
 				return;
 			};
-			let Ok(rt) = tokio::runtime::Builder::new_current_thread()
-				.enable_all()
-				.build()
-			else {
-				return;
-			};
 			let check = rt.block_on(crate::nostr::nip05::check(&pk, name, domain));
 			if let Some(mut c) = svc.store.contact(&hex) {
 				if apply_nip05_check(&mut c, &nip05, check) {
diff --git a/src/nostr/nip05.rs b/src/nostr/nip05.rs
index acbd4b51..d8e17318 100644
--- a/src/nostr/nip05.rs
+++ b/src/nostr/nip05.rs
@@ -106,6 +106,28 @@ pub async fn resolve(name: &str, domain: &str) -> Option<Nip05Resolution> {
 	parse_well_known(&body, name)
 }
 
+/// Reverse lookup against an authority: the active `@name` a pubkey holds, if
+/// any. Authoritative and single-request — unlike fetching the peer's kind-0 off
+/// a relay and verifying the NIP-05 it advertises, this needs no profile fetch,
+/// so a contact's name resolves even when their profile can't be retrieved.
+/// `Some(name)` = server-confirmed; `None` = the key has no name on this
+/// authority OR the server was unreachable (the two are indistinguishable here,
+/// so callers must NOT treat `None` as "released" — fall back to the kind-0 +
+/// verify path, which can tell a definitive miss from a network blip).
+pub async fn name_by_pubkey(domain: &str, pubkey_hex: &str) -> Option<String> {
+	let url = format!(
+		"https://{}/api/v1/by-pubkey/{}",
+		domain,
+		urlencode(pubkey_hex)
+	);
+	let body = nym::http_request("GET", url, None, vec![]).await?;
+	let doc: Value = serde_json::from_str(&body).ok()?;
+	doc.get("name")
+		.and_then(|v| v.as_str())
+		.filter(|s| !s.is_empty())
+		.map(|s| s.to_string())
+}
+
 /// Verify that a pubkey matches its claimed NIP-05 identifier.
 pub async fn verify(pubkey: &PublicKey, name: &str, domain: &str) -> bool {
 	match resolve(name, domain).await {