This quote also sums up an answer to the OPs questions.
It is arguably inevitable that the first founding chapters were influenced by real human history. If only in part of fully. It's hard to come up with anything original at all.
White Scars = Mongol / Steppes nomadic tribes
Death Guard = Diseases and death related names (Typhus, Mortarian, etc).
Ultramarines = Classical Era names (not just Roman, but a lot of Greek too)
etc etc
It's harder to claim HISTORICAL influence for things like the World Eaters, Iron Legion, Luna Wolves, so perhaps these are influences by other things.... or might even be original.
You'd have to look at the 1980s and 1990s era Games Workshop for more of an explanation as a lot of the things were tongue-in-cheek humor, ironic or parodies. Think of Ferrus Manus... who was Primarch of the Iron Hands. His name, in High Gothic would have literally meant something akin to Iron Hand.