We have an unwritten internal policy where we try not to give new joiners the same first name as someone in upper management.

For example, if our CEO’s name is Don and a new hire is also named Don, we politely ask whether they have a middle name they normally use. Alternatively, if their name is long enough, we may use a shortened version for their email address.

I also know someone in the office who is referred to by their middle name at work, even though their friends call them by their first name.

Is this an ego thing from upper management, and are we, Shitty Sysadmins, allowing this practice to continue?

I'll start. We have one genius who notoriously never responds to any of your questions after submitting a ticket, but as soon as you close it, she immediately emails you saying the issue is still ongoing and the ticket shouldn't have been closed.

And if you somehow manage to get her attention and find a time to look into the issue, the moment things start working for her, you'll never hear from her again. Not even bothered to confirm if it works after you've explicitly asked her to do so just so you can close the ticket.

But her son does IT security for the DOD, gas, electric, and water companies.