From some PDF: > MITRE is not an acronym, but the name of our company. The origin of the name is somewhat obscure, but is attributed to James McCormack, a member of MITRE's first Board of Trustees. McCormack helped draft the charter and incorporate The MITRE Corporation in July 1958. He wanted a name that was meaningless and without connotations, but with an attractive feel. Some people thought the word MITRE was based on the word for joining or fitting together. Others believed the name came from combining industry names or keywords. McCormack, however, denied all of these explanations.