If you’ve been searching for opportunities to use your snow puns — look no further. Chicago’s Fourth Annual ‘You Name a Snowplow” contest is back.
The contest, which is held by the Department of Streets and Sanitation, encourages residents to submit creative snowplow names for the city’s six snow districts. Past winners have been ‘Bozo the Plown,’ ‘Lollaplowlooza’ and ‘Scoop, There It Is!.’
“The snowplow naming contest is a crowd favorite, and we are as excited as ever to see the creativity and Chicago pride on display with this year’s submissions,” said DSS Commissioner Cole Stallard. “This is a great opportunity to engage with the community and showcase the hard work of the City staff in clearing snow and ice from the roads.”
This year’s contest will be separated into two phases.
Initially, the city will collect all name submissions, which are limited to one person and 50 characters in length. When submissions close on Jan. 10, 2026 or when the city receives 20,000 submissions — whichever comes first — DSS staff will choose 25 finalists.
The second phase begins on Feb. 1, 2026 and allows residents to vote for their favorite six names by Feb. 14, 2026. The top six names will then be featured on the six snowplows across the city’s six snow districts.
Because there is a potential of people submitting identical names, the individuals who submitted their idea first, which is decided by time stamps, will be chosen for a photo opportunity with the named snowplow and city merch.
Residents interested in submitting their ideas can find the form on the city’s website.
