High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Orphan initialism is the changing of the official name of a corporation, advocacy group or any organization to an acronym or initialism. Formed like any other acronym, the initial letters of the previous name are used. Such name changes are often connected to the continuous process of brand invigoration within government agencies and the corporate community. This is often done to expand the public`s perception of the company`s focus beyond what the original name indicates; for instance, BP (formerly British Petroleum) has been using the phrase "Beyond Petroleum" in its marketing. It may not be clear to those unaware of the previous name where the new name came from, if it is a person`s proper name or relates to place or culture.