There have been many questions about this "meme" if you will.
What was the first use?
I think it was "Best. Boyfriend. Ever." But I have no idea where.
When was the first use?
I think it is a 21st century thing ... I reckon around 2005.
Is it an internet thing?
I don't know. It could be like the "Keep calm and _ _ _" meme which started elsewhere, but became an internet meme.
Finally, your question 'Does it have a name'?
The answer is no, there's not a commonly used name for this "meme".
No memes I'm aware of "have names". You just refer to them as the "keep calm meme" or the "Lion facepalm meme" - or whatever.
For me, if someone referred to it as the (say) "three full-stops meme" it would be instantly understood that you are referring to the meme in question.
You could also refer to it as the "blah-blah-Ever" meme since it's most typically "Superlative. Something. Ever."
By the way as I mention in a comment: the examples of the meme which you happen to include are perhaps poor examples: Classically, the meme has three words. Three only, not four or five. "Best. Boyfriend. Ever."
(Also, I'd say it's not a "rhetorical device" if you look at the dictionary definition of rhetoric. I wouldn't describe a "fad" as a rhetorical device. Consider, say, "emoticons" - you wouldn't really call those a rhetorical device. Right? They are, simply, a popular fad in writing.)
In a sense, the answer to your question is indeed: "punctuation".
If someone from Mars said "explain to me this three-word meme I have heard about, as I have never actually seen your Internet" you'd probably indeed say "it's a fad involving using punctuation in a certain way."
That's the broadest simple description of this meme.
Indeed if you referred to it as the "punctuation meme" I bet most people would make the link.
(It's the only meme I can think of where the idea is you punctuate a (short) sentence in a weird way.)
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