res.var <- matrix(nrow = 2, ncol = 4)
res.var <- as.data.frame(res.var)

column.names <- c("a", "b", "c", "d", "e")
column.names <- as.data.frame(column.names)

position.vec <- c(3, 4, 5, 2)
position.vec <- as.data.frame(position.vec)

j <- 1
l <- 4

while (j <= l) {
  names(res.var)[j] <- column.names[position.vec[j, 1], ]
  j <- j + 1
}

resulting.table <- matrix(nrow = 2, ncol = 4)
resulting.table <- as.data.frame(resulting.table)
names(resulting.table) <- c("c", "d", "e", "b")