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

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/static_files/history-motorola-annual-report-archive-1980-9p32mb-40.pdf 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=68000+40,000+transistors+geometry+engine&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiHoqGEl8_TAhUN2GMKHfcTAKAQ6AEIIjAA#v=onepage&q=68000%2040%2C000%20transistors%20geometry%20engine&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=gD4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA17&dq=68...