There is no "rule" about a "middle carbon". It just happens in your example that there is a distinction between the terminal carbons (removing H from which gives n-propyl) and the middle one - the sole non-terminal carbon. For molecules with more than one non-terminal C, there is no rule about the middle one giving iso. In fact, apart from isopropyl, iso- names are derived from isoalkanes, which are branched. Thus isobutene is 2-methylpropene (not 2-butene). Isopentene is 3-methyl-1-pentene (why that rather than any other derivative of isopentane, I'm not sure; perhaps the honour goes to the least substituted alkene?). 2-pentene is not isopentene.