I've got absolutely no reason to prefer
Laura, but prefer it I do. It's so understated, so cheerful, so classic, so perfect for all ages.
I love
Eleanor and
Elinor, and the two I've known well never used a nn at all, but most of 'em do. And that nn is
Ellie in today's world and was
Nellie for many centuries before that. Which puts me off, big time.
The reason I never used
Laura is that I was committed to using my late mother's name as either mn of fn, and it was
Beatrice. So the combination is way too Italian-literature for comfort, especially as I've got no knowledge of Italian!