Gambit Scheme is also a pun on Marc Feeley's surname in Irish -- O Fithcheallaigh -- which means 'chess player'. The name is derived from the ancient Irish board game fidchell, rules unknown, but taken to be akin to chess.
That's a bit different. Guy Steele's first Scheme compiler was called RABBIT (it ran fast). The Yale T project created the Orbit compiler. This set off a *bit trend, including Gambit and also Will Clinger's Twobit.