Tyrades! Are You and Your Middle Name on Speaking Terms?

There’s no middle ground with middle names. You either love them or hate them.

Or, if you’re a politician, you treat them however the latest opinion poll indicates. (“It’s way past time this nation took the bold bipartisan move of giving Harry S. Truman an actual posthumous middle name – not for our own benefit, but FOR THE CHILDREN.”)

Middle names come from various sources. My son and I both carry on my late father’s middle name of Lewis. My brother was named for the surgeon who delivered him. (For years, I thought his middle name was Stork.)

Some people select trendy/classic/elegant/powerful...