It's much more likely (like infinitely more likely) that the 68000 name stems from the earlier 6800 8-bit product line. There's nothing definitive saying 68,000 transistors and I've read both 40,000 and 68,000. I believe that 68,000 was just marketing. FWIW, Motorola also employed 68,000 people in 1980 (approximately):

https://www.motorolasolutions.com/content/dam/msi/docs/en-xw...

The Geometry Engine had 40,000.

https://books.google.com/books?id=gD4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA17&dq=68...