1. To make DNA you need a DNA polymerase. In our cells we only have DNA polymerase that works on DNA - we call it DNA dependent DNA polymerase. However, some organisms (viruses) have polymerases that are capable of making DNA from RNA. It doesn't necessarily have to be mRNA, but we call these enzymes "RNA dependent DNA polymerase".
So the name "reverse transcriptase" is a general term for those enzymes that allow us to go against Crick-Central dogma and produce DNA from RNA.
2. Genetic transformation is where DNA (usually fragments of DNA) is taken up by a cell and incorporated into the genome. It usually happens in bacterial cells, where they're capable of transporting environmental DNA across their cell wall and expressing it. It's not a synonym for recombinant DNA technology, which is where we combine two (or more) sequences of DNA, typically via restriction enzymes and plasmids.