Dara Pearlman wrote:

Does anyone know the given name "Tanchen", also written "Tanchel" and
"Tanchem"?  This person was born
in Latvia circa 1852.  I'm guessing that it is a nickname for "Natan,"
but I don't know for sure.

On Fri, 02 Apr 1999 12:19:42 +0300  I wrote (in this very SIG) on the
subject of Tanchum (first name):
"A short search under the name Tanchum in the JewishGen Discussion Group
archives would have found 13 entries in the last 4 years (one of them my
own). these are some of the old answers:

".... the word (is) Hebrew and related to Nachem (to comfort/console.
Na(c)hum is the name of a Biblical prophet and his book. Common variants
are Menachem, Nachman, Nechama. Tenachem means "console yourself" (some
say "may you be consoled"). Tanchum was the name of a number of sages
whose opinion is cited in the Jerusalem Talmud (Yerushalmi). It is also
the name associated with various collections of Midrashim (exegeses)
especially with those known as Yelamdenu; the author is said to have
been Tanhum, but that is just a tradition.." Michael Bernet, New York
Tanchum=Male (the only famous Tanchum I know is Tanchum Cohen Mints, an
Israeli Basketball player back in the 60's) Shimon Barak, Israel

"The Yiddish nickname Tane (also Tanl) is a nickname for the Hebrew name
Tanchum" Michoel Ronn

"Tane is one of the Yiddish hypocoristic forms of the Hebrew masculine
given name Tankhum (Tanchum), which means "consolation" (Talmud, Moed
Katan 25). Leonard Kamenetsky

Dr Shimon Barak
ISRAEL