Death and pasta - what could be more Sicilian?
Anyway, the first story of the dish’s name is that a famous Italian chef was so excited by seeing Bellini’s “Norma” that, as soon as he returned to his kitchen, he concocted this sauce and named it in her honor using products typical of the region: eggplant, tomato sauce, ricotta, and naturally, spaghetti.
The more likely explanation is that a few of Bellini’s compatriots, delighted by the beauty of the opera, began using the new superlative “una vera Norma” (“a real Norma”) to praise the merits of a product or a deed. Think about these familiar eponymous expressions, both positive and negative- “This is a Mickey Mouse rule!”, “She’s a Mona Lisa," “He’s a regular Einstein," “He’s a Jack-of-all-trades," or “He has the Midas touch.”
After many years had passed, the author Nino Martaglio allegedly tasted this regional dish and went into catatonic ecstasy about it, subsequently calling it “Spaghetti Alla Norma"- which is its name to this very day.
And there you have it.