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Greetings from the Academy of St. Gabriel!
You asked us to help find a name for a Polish persona born in 1241. You said you'd like the given name of "Jorian" and a surname, either "Podolak"or one similar to your mundane name of "Litherland."
We were not able to find any instances of "Jorian" used as a Polish given name in your period, although the name "J{ó}rien" was used in 15th century Denmark (the {ó} indicates the slashed Danish "o"). [1]
Our sources for period Polish names are limited, so we were unable to find many names in the 13th century. Here are some other Polish names that sound something like "Jorian," including some from a little later than you indicated:
Iuran' (15th century)[2], pronounced \YOU-rahn\ (the"n'"
indicates an accent mark over the "n")
Iuriat (13th century)[2], pronounced \YOU-ree-aht\
Iordan, Jordan (12th century)[2], pronounced \YORE-dahn\
Jaroni (15th century)[2], pronounced \yah-ROE-nee\
Je,drzej (16th century), "Je,drzey"(14th century)(variants
of "Andrzej"),[2,3](the "e," indicates the "e" has a mark
beneath it like you see under the "c" in "garcon," only
backwards), pronounced \YEN-djay\
Jarema (16th century)[3], pronounced \YOUR-eh-muh\
Jaros{l/}aw (the "l/" indicates an "l" with a horizontal
slash in the middle of the letter), Iaroslaw (14th century)
[2], pronounced \YAR-o-swav\
Jerzy (16th century) [3], pronounced \YAIR-zee\
Jurek, Iurek (15th century)[2], pronounced \YOUR-ek\, (a pet
form of "Georgio"-pronounced \GHAY-or-gee-oh\)
We did not find a reference to "Podolak" in our period; however, the similar surnames "Podolec" (pronounced \POH-do-lets\) or "Podolecz" (pronounced \POH-doh-letch\) were in use in the 15th century. [2] These names were probably not in use in the 13th century, though, as most Poles then were known only by a single given name. It would be most authentic for your persona to use just a given name, but if you move your persona to the 15th century, a name like "Iuran' Podalec" or "Jurek Podolecz" would be an excellent choice.
If you wish to register your name with the College of Arms, though, you'll need a second name, even if your persona is from the 13th century. The most appropriate byname for your period would be a descriptive one. For example, you wrote that you wanted to place your persona in Chmielnik. The name "w~ Chmielnik" (the "~" indicates a straight line that goes over the "w") would mean "of Chmielnik." However, in the early 13th century, that byname construction probably means the bearer is the ruler of Chmielnik, not just a resident. It is more likely that a Pole of the 13th century, if he were to have a byname, would have one reflecting personal characteristics, like "the tall," "the bald," etc. [4] If you decide to keep your persona in the 13th century and want to use a byname like this, we'll be glad to try and help. Let us know what you want your name to mean, and we'll do our best to translate it or find a similar byname from the period.
We hope this letter has been helpful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. Talan Gwynek, Alisandre Oliphant, Jan w~ Orzeldom, Elsbeth Anne Roth, Arval d'Espas Nord and Lindorm Eriksson contributed research and comments to this letter.
For the Academy,
AElfwyn aet Gyrwum
[1] _Danmarks Gamle Personnavne, Vol. I: Fornavne_ (Copenhagen: 1936-40).
[2] Taszycki, Witold, _S{l/}ownik Staropolskich Nazw Osobowych. Vols. I-VI_ (Wroc{l/}aw: Zak{l/}ad Norodowy Imienia Ossoli{n'}skich Wydawnictwo Polskeij Akademii Nauk, 1965-1982).
[3] Davies, Norman, _God's Playground: A History of Poland, Volume 1: The Origins to 1795_ (Columbia University Press 1982). Although Professor Davies appears to have names in both Polish and English spellings, be aware that his focus is not on names, so they may not be spelled or used in the text as they would have been historically.
[4] Jan w~ Orzeldom, private communication, January 1998.
Correction, Arval, 26 Feb 2005: Corrected the author's name in note [2].