"Carbonara" comes from the Italian word carbonaro, which translates as “coal burner." There's a legend, which most believe to be apocryphal, that says the dish was created as an easy-to-make, stick-to-your-ribs meal men who were working outside all day long could make for themselves. The more widely accepted origin of the dish is that American soldiers during the Second World War brought their taste for bacon and eggs to Europe, and hence the dish was created to sate ally tastes.