Improve Customer Search Tolerance for Names With or Without Middle Names/Initials

Problem Statement

When searching for a customer using first and last name, the search results do not appear if the customer record includes a middle name or initial, unless the user enters the name exactly as stored.
This makes it difficult for support, fulfillment, and operations teams to locate customers efficiently — especially when users do not know whether a middle name or initial exists in the profile.

User Story

As a staff user searching for a customer
I want the Customer Search tool to return results even when I don’t enter a middle name or special character
So that I can reliably find customers without needing exact formatting or guesswork.

Definition of Done (DoD)

Scope

Improve search logic so that middle names and initials do not block matches when searching by first and last name.
Searching for:
- “John Smith” should return customers listed as:
  - “John A. Smith”
  - “John Adam Smith”
  - “John Smith”
Introduce an optional field for middle name in the customer profile (not required to search but available if used).
Do not make any search fields mandatory.

Acceptance Criteria

Flexible Matching
- A customer appears in results when the user enters first + last name, regardless of whether the stored record includes a middle name or initial.
Partial-Name Acceptance
- Search should return results if the user only enters part of the name (e.g., “John Smi”), consistent with current fuzzy behavior.
Middle Name Field (Optional)
- Middle name can be stored if provided.
- Search does not require it.
No New Mandatory Fields
- All search fields remain optional.
- Users can search by any combination of first / last / email / etc.
UI Behavior
- Customer Search results load normally without requiring exact match formatting.
- No changes to the existing search interface beyond improved matching logic.
Testing
- QA verifies searches for customers with:
  - No middle name
  - Middle initial
  - Full middle name
- All return expected results when searching by first + last.