diff --git a/esphome/components/api/api_connection.h b/esphome/components/api/api_connection.h
index cb2b3717ab4..0b4f4590a56 100644
--- a/esphome/components/api/api_connection.h
+++ b/esphome/components/api/api_connection.h
@@ -16,16 +16,9 @@
 
 namespace esphome::api {
 
-// Client information structure - uses fixed buffer to avoid std::string heap allocation
 // Max client name length (e.g., "Home Assistant 2026.1.0.dev0" = 28 chars)
 static constexpr size_t CLIENT_INFO_NAME_MAX_LEN = 32;
 
-struct ClientInfo {
-  char name[CLIENT_INFO_NAME_MAX_LEN]{};  // Client name from Hello message
-  // Note: peername (IP address) is not stored here to save memory.
-  // Use helper_->getpeername_to() when needed.
-};
-
 // Keepalive timeout in milliseconds
 static constexpr uint32_t KEEPALIVE_TIMEOUT_MS = 60000;
 // Maximum number of entities to process in a single batch during initial state/info sending
@@ -294,7 +287,7 @@ class APIConnection final : public APIServerConnection {
   bool try_to_clear_buffer(bool log_out_of_space);
   bool send_buffer(ProtoWriteBuffer buffer, uint8_t message_type) override;
 
-  StringRef get_name() const { return StringRef(this->client_info_.name); }
+  StringRef get_name() const { return StringRef(this->client_name_); }
   /// Get peer name (IP address) into a stack buffer - avoids heap allocation
   size_t get_peername_to(std::span<char, socket::PEERNAME_MAX_LEN> buf) const {
     return this->helper_->getpeername_to(buf);
@@ -532,8 +525,9 @@ class APIConnection final : public APIServerConnection {
   std::unique_ptr<camera::CameraImageReader> image_reader_;
 #endif
 
-  // Group 3: Client info struct (24 bytes on 32-bit: 2 strings × 12 bytes each)
-  ClientInfo client_info_;
+  // Group 3: Client name (32 bytes fixed buffer, avoids heap allocation)
+  // Note: peername (IP address) is formatted on-demand via helper_->getpeername_to()
+  char client_name_[CLIENT_INFO_NAME_MAX_LEN]{};
 
   // Group 4: 4-byte types
   uint32_t last_traffic_;
diff --git a/esphome/components/api/api_frame_helper.h b/esphome/components/api/api_frame_helper.h
index 85a74e32cf3..e2c870ff694 100644
--- a/esphome/components/api/api_frame_helper.h
+++ b/esphome/components/api/api_frame_helper.h
@@ -29,9 +29,6 @@ static constexpr uint16_t MAX_MESSAGE_SIZE = 8192;  // 8 KiB for ESP8266
 static constexpr uint16_t MAX_MESSAGE_SIZE = 32768;  // 32 KiB for ESP32 and other platforms
 #endif
 
-// Forward declaration
-struct ClientInfo;
-
 class ProtoWriteBuffer;
 
 struct ReadPacketBuffer {
@@ -82,8 +79,8 @@ const LogString *api_error_to_logstr(APIError err);
 class APIFrameHelper {
  public:
   APIFrameHelper() = default;
-  explicit APIFrameHelper(std::unique_ptr<socket::Socket> socket, const ClientInfo *client_info)
-      : socket_(std::move(socket)), client_info_(client_info) {}
+  explicit APIFrameHelper(std::unique_ptr<socket::Socket> socket, const char *client_name)
+      : socket_(std::move(socket)), client_name_(client_name) {}
   virtual ~APIFrameHelper() = default;
   virtual APIError init() = 0;
   virtual APIError loop();