Acronym

=== Pseudo-acronyms and orphan initialisms<span class="anchor" id="Pseudo-acronyms"></span><span class="anchor" id="Orphan initialisms"></span><!--redirects to this section -->===
Some apparent acronyms or other abbreviations do not stand for anything and cannot be expanded to some meaning. Such pseudo-acronyms may be pronunciation-based, such as "BBQ" (''bee-bee-cue''), for "barbecue", and "K9" (''kay-nine'') for "canine". Pseudo-acronyms also frequently develop as "orphan initialisms"; an existing acronym is redefined as a non-acronymous name, severing its link to its previous meaning.<ref name=upenn>{{cite web |url= http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003555.html |work=[[Language Log]] |title=Orphan Initialisms |date=September 7, 2006 |first=Arnold |last=Zwicky |author-link=Arnold Zwicky |editor-first=Mark |editor-last=Liberman |editor-link=Mark Liberman |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |access-date=September 27, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100621181657/http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003555.html |archive-date=June 21, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=about>[http://grammar.about.com/b/2010/06/02/what-does-bp-stand-for.htm What Does "BP" Stand For?] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121118220424/http://grammar.about.com/b/2010/06/02/what-does-bp-stand-for.htm |date=November 18, 2012}}</ref> For example, the letters of the "[[SAT]]", a US college entrance test originally dubbed "Scholastic Aptitude Test", no longer officially stand for anything.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/02/us/insisting-it-s-nothing-creator-says-sat-not-sat.html |title=Insisting It's Nothing, Creator Says SAT, Not S.A.T. |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 2, 1997 |last=Applebome |first=Peter |access-date=February 14, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170417203501/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/02/us/insisting-it-s-nothing-creator-says-sat-not-sat.html |archive-date=April 17, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title= Changes to SAT Make Test More Coachable |last=Komarek |first=Dan |newspaper=[[Daily Californian]] |date=July 29, 2003}}</ref> The US-based [[Abortion-rights movements|abortion-rights]] organization "[[NARAL Pro-Choice America|NARAL]]" is another example of this; in that case, the organization changed its name three times, with the long-form of the name always corresponding to the letters "NARAL", before eventually opting to simply be known by the short-form, without being connected to a long-form.

This is common with companies that want to retain [[brand recognition]] while moving away from an outdated image: American Telephone and Telegraph became [[AT&T Corporation|AT&T]]<ref name=upenn /> and [[BP|British Petroleum]] became BP.<ref name=about /><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=287 |title=BP plc History |access-date=September 29, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100615011613/http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=287 |archive-date=June 15, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[RT (TV network)|Russia Today]]'' has rebranded itself as ''RT''. [[American Movie Classics]] has simply rebranded itself as AMC. Genzyme Transgenics Corporation became GTC Biotherapeutics, Inc.; [[The Learning Channel]] became TLC; [[MTV]] dropped the name Music Television out of its brand; and [[American District Telegraph]] became simply known as ADT. "[[KFC|Kentucky Fried Chicken]]" went partway, re-branding itself with its initialism "KFC" to de-emphasize the role of frying in the preparation of its signature dishes, although in this case, "KFC" remains a true initialism which still officially stands for "Kentucky Fried Chicken".<ref>{{cite news |url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_n8_v25/ai_10403447 |title=KFC shuns 'fried' image with new name&nbsp;– Kentucky Fried Chicken has changed its name to KFC |first=Peter O. |last=Keegan |publisher=Nation's Restaurant News |date=February 21, 1991 |access-date=August 24, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071104124859/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_n8_v25/ai_10403447 |archive-date=November 4, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|This change was also applied to other languages, with ''Poulet Frit Kentucky'' becoming ''PFK'' in French Canada.}} The East Coast Hockey League became the [[ECHL]] when it expanded to include cities in the western United States prior to the 2003–2004 season.

Pseudo-acronyms may have advantages in international markets:{{according to whom|date=October 2017}} for example, some national [[Affiliate (commerce)|affiliates]] of [[International Business Machines]] are legally incorporated with "IBM" in their names (for example, IBM Canada) to avoid translating the full name into local languages.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}} Likewise, [[UBS AG|UBS]] is the name of the merged [[Union Bank of Switzerland]] and [[Swiss Bank Corporation]],<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2833426/UBS-means-RIP-for-Warburg.html UBS means RIP for Warburg] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180504225347/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2833426/UBS-means-RIP-for-Warburg.html |date=May 4, 2018}}. ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', November 13, 2002</ref> and [[HSBC]] has replaced the long name Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. Some companies which have a name giving a clear indication of their place of origin will choose to use acronyms when expanding to foreign markets: for example, [[Toronto-Dominion Bank]] continues to operate under the full name in Canada, but its U.S. subsidiary is known as [[TD Bank, N.A.|TD Bank]], just as [[Royal Bank of Canada]] used its full name in Canada (a [[constitutional monarchy]]), but its U.S. subsidiary is called [[RBC Bank]]. The India-based [[JSW Group]] of companies is another example of the original name (Jindal South West Group) being re-branded into a pseudo-acronym while expanding into other geographical areas in and outside of India.