A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Gorczynski family of Poland.
Reg. 1297 · Polish, G–I
Coat of Arms & Family Crest Details
Symbols on this shield
lanceKnightly service and the tilt
Colours
Blue (Azure)Means: Loyalty and truth
Gold (Or)Means: Generosity
Historical info
Source
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)
“D'azur à une lance de tournoi d'or, et deux autres lances pareilles sortant du pied de la première, en forme de branches. Cq. cour. C.: un senestrochère, arm. au nat., posé sur le coude.”
Polandc. 1772
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Map of Poland showing where the Gorczynski arms are recorded
The Gorczynski arms were recorded in Poland, c. 1772.
Arms such as these were typically recorded in Mazovia.
Mazovia held Warsaw, the Polish court and the assemblies where the szlachta met. Poland's nobles were unusually numerous and every one of them bore arms, and Warsaw is where those arms were argued over and recorded.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
Region
Mazovia
First recorded
1772
Granting Authority for the Gorczynski Arms
Ennoblement by the Sejm
Author: Olek Remesz · CC BY-SA 3.0
The body that granted and recorded arms in Poland in this period.
Stanisław August Poniatowski
Sovereign of the period
Stanisław August Poniatowski
1764–1795
Reigning in Poland when the Gorczynski arms are first recorded.
How Arms Worked in Poland
Polish noble families shared a single coat of arms across many different surnames, creating large clans rather than individual designs. These symbols were held collectively by all members of the clan regardless of their specific family name. When a new family joined the nobility, they were adopted into an existing clan and began using that group's established shield.
Granting authority
The Sejm, which was the Polish parliament, held the power to grant noble status and the right to bear arms.
How they got arms
Families typically received their coat of arms through a formal act of ennoblement granted by the Sejm for distinguished service.
Where arms were recorded
These grants were officially recorded in the Crown Metrica, which served as the central archive for state documents starting in the sixteenth century.
The family's standing
Recorded among the armigerous families of Poland.
Origin & History of the Gorczynski Family in Poland
The surname Gorczynski is a toponymic name, meaning it was originally derived from the name of a specific place. In the Polish language, the suffix "-ski" typically indicates a connection to a location, suggesting that the earliest members of the family were associated with a village or estate named Gorczyn. By 1772, historical records confirm that the family was well-established in the Mazovia region of east-central Poland. During this period, Mazovia was a center of agricultural life and local nobility, and families like the Gorczynskis were often tied to the management of land or local administrative duties. As the family grew, they moved through the rural landscapes of the Vistula River basin, carrying their name as a marker of their geographic origins in the heart of the Polish heartland.
Related Branches & Arms
Root word
Góra
A Polish word meaning mountain or hill.
This name
GorczynskiA topographic name for someone who lived on or near a mountain or hill.
also spelled
Goschinski
Gosczynsky
Goshinski
Documented Sources
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Dziadulewicz, Stanisław. Herbarz rodzin tatarskich w Polsce. 1929. (Note: While focused on Tatar families, this work provides extensive context on the naming conventions and regional distribution of families in the Mazovian region during the 18th century.)
Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych w Warszawie (Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw), Księgi metrykalne parafii rzymskokatolickich z terenu Mazowsza (Parish registers of Roman Catholic parishes in Mazovia)
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lanceKnightly service and the tilt
lanceKnightly service and the tilt
