Baal was the Phoenician "Lord of High Places", said to have sprung from the
rain-drenched mountains of the Levant (the ancient geographic area that now includes Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine); his consort was Astarte, the goddess of Byblos (Tower of Babel ring a bell, anyone?) and goddess of fertility and love.
The word Baal basically meant "lord" and was simply a title of respect which would be augmented with another "personal" name for each regional version of Baal, depending on which village you were in.
By using only the word Baal and not any other regional names, the priests of Baal in the story of Elijah represent not just one specific location and followers of one specific local god, but all false gods and all those who follow them.
And now you know.
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