The "Bee Gees" is actually a stylised expansion of the initials BGs, which in turn refers to initials of Barry Gibb, DJ Bill Gates and Bill Goode (or simply means Brothers Gibb).
"Eminem" comes from M&M, initials of Marshall Mathers.
Similarly, "Emcee" from pronunciation of M.C., abbreviation of master of ceremonies, a noun phrase attested from the 1660s.
In my place I see a lot of companies titled similarly, PeeKays (from initials PK), CeePee electronics, Kay Pee Em tours and travels etc.
Now, my username NVZ is an initialism. What if I expand it into En Vee Zee?
What is this type of naming called?
I don't think it's simply an acronym, or an initialism.
Answer
If you say it aloud, then it's just an initialism. If you proceed to spell it out with complete syllables, rather than letters, i thought at first you could say it's a "phonetically spelled initialism". On the other hand, "phonetically spelled" may suggest that a phonetic alphabet should be used, ie one in which the symbols represent specific sounds, unlike the more flexible regular alphabet.
So, perhaps the best reference is sensational spelling, in which a word is deliberately misspelled for effect. This is commonly used in branding to give an impression of uniqueness, and, perhaps more importantly, to allow the trademarking of the term. ("Blu-ray", "Mortal Kombat" etc - see "Sensational spelling" on Wikipedia)
So, i think you could call it a sensationally spelled initialism.
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