Your views on these names needed!

Laurie - I like this but I think you'd only get away with it in certain areas
Benjamin (NOT Ben) - nice but dull
Gilbert - horse name. Makes me think of someone with an overbite and a funny voice.
Bob - Love it. You have to make it short for something though.
Tom - As above. Not substantial enough on its own, but I know lots of little Toms who are nothing but Tom on a day-to-day basis.

Albertine - I kind of like it but can understand the negative response. Middle name maybe?
Florence - nice but popular
Audrey - all the Audreys I know are middle aged, which puts me off. Nice though.
Beatrice - nice but posh
Elizabeth - nice but dull
Leonora - very pretty
Merrilees - how about Merrily instead? I saw a child named that once and thought it was lovely.

Laurie - fantastic name esp short for Laurence
Benjamin (NOT Ben) - nice
Gilbert - also nice - reminds me of Anne of Green Gables
Bob - good name for a pet!
Tom - nice but dull

Albertine - not sure
Florence - becoming too popular for my liking
Audrey - bit old fashioned
Beatrice - quite nice
Elizabeth - lovely and lots of nice nn's
Leonora - would also remind me of fabric cond
Merrilees - nice I also like Merryn or Merrion

Ben (which Benjamin WILL become), Tom and Bob are too popular and a little dull imo.
And Laurie/Laurence is quite feminine, I think it is a French girls name. Lawrence would work better for a boy.

I don't love any of your girls choices but if I had to choose, I'd say Leonora - sounds feminine and pretty.

Laurie is very girly, being too close to Laura. Laurence is also the feminine form of Laurent - I know a lovely French Laurence in her 30s.

Gilbert is nice and not so overused as your other suggestions.

I love Audrey and Leonora.

Benjamin (NOT Ben) - how are you going to enforce that one then?

my son, joseph - some friends came calling for him when he ws about 14 and asked if Joe was in.

i told them no-one called Joe lived here.

now aged 21 he is known to most as ....Joe

only i call him Joseph

Laurie - like it
Benjamin (NOT Ben) - lovely
Gilbert - a bit wet
Bob - I just think of Blackadder
Tom - love it

Albertine - "So you wanted a boy."
Florence - lovely
Audrey - becoming popular (on MN at least)
Beatrice - love it
Elizabeth - classic
Leonora - beautiful, melodic name
Merrilees - not heard it before, but it has a pretty sound to it

Benjamins do not have to be Bens . Although some people call him it on first meeting him, they soon realise he is Benjamin

Gilbert and Audrey both lovely x

Laurie- prefer Laurence
Benjamin (NOT Ben)- Classic
Gilbert- a bit Bohemian for my taste
Bob- I'm not keen on Short versions used a sthe official name, so would say I prefer Robert.
Tom- Ditto

Albertine- Really don't like it
Florence- Has become very popular very quickly
Audrey- Not to my taste
Beatrice- Like
Elizabeth- like, if you wanted to use a nickname for either of these two, Betty is sweet
Leonora- Very nice
Merrilees- Not quite sure. Leaning towards the no.

Laurie - quite like

Gilbert - I want to hate it but bizarrely I don't. It's growing on me.

Benjamin WILL just be Ben whether you like it or not.

Tom - dull
Bob - yuk.

What about Lennie? Or Stan?

Albertine - Love it. Ignore the haters - they know nothing.

Elizabeth - Beautiful and calssc, can't go wrong.
Leonora - ok
Merrilees - never heard it bt agree it sound like a horse.
Beatrice - No
Florence - a bit over popular now, will be ubiquitous in five years
Audrey - I know it's quite trendy but I'm just not ready for it. It just reminds me of Beryl, and Brenda and Joyce and Hilary. It's not old lady chic, more 'polyester slacks with an elasticated waist and crash helmet hairdo.'

Laurie - nice
Benjamin (NOT Ben) - you won't be able to stop that
Gilbert - Grape
Bob - You really should go for Robert if you like it
Tom - ditto Thomas

Albertine - Sounds like a biscuit
Florence - very nice
Audrey - not sure
Beatrice - lovely
Elizabeth - lovely
Leonora - don't like
Merrilees - really?

Oooh Benedict- Wonder if my DH will go for it?

OP, I don't know why you would go for shortened names for some but not for Benjamin? I'd go Thomas, Robert and Lawrence ( although none really to my taste, if you like them, at least they have a choice ( Rob if they end up working in IT, Robert if they end up Prime Minister)

Don't really like Gilbert. Reminds me of a really old man! As Math said, Albert nicer IMO. Like your girls names. Although theres nothing that will concentrate the mind like a 9 month deadline, so you will change your mind about a million times before you have a baby to name! My favourite girls name was taken at the last minute, and it's waaay too popular now anyway, so the name I wanted for about 10 years I'm not going to have!

Nancy IMO seems like an 'old' name. Its lovely though. I like Florence out of your other list, not keen on any of the other.

I know a Benjamin and he's 8 - he's not called Ben. :)

Laurie -- roo girly
Benjamin (NOT Ben) -- it will be Ben, or else you'll go round calling him Benjaminnotben.
Gilbert -- nothing specifically wrong with it that I can see, but I think Albert has aged better.
Bob -- NO unless Robert
Tom -- NO unless Thomas

Albertine -- worse that Ernestine
Florence -- too housemaidy and now famous too
Audrey -- Gorgeous
Beatrice -- Gorgeous
Elizabeth -- can't go wrong
Leonora -- Gorgeous
Merrilees -- A riding academy

DD1 would have been Laurie, had she been ds

Laurie - lovely but maybe Laurence as full
Benjamin (NOT Ben) - yes
Gilbert -hideous
Bob - no
Tom - nice but Thomas better woth Tom as nn

Albertine - horrid
Florence =- nice
Audrey - ok
Beatrice -lovely
Elizabeth - brill
Leonora -ok
Merrilees - horrible

You cannot call a child Benjamin or Benedict without him being called Ben! It is just too long imo, which is a shame as Benjamin is lovely (whereas I find Ben dull and overused).

I like Gilbert and Audrey best.

Laurie - Like this, would use Laurence as full name, reminds me of Laurie Lee
Benjamin (NOT Ben) - Like but people will call him Ben, which is nice too
Gilbert - HIDEOUS
Bob - No
Tom - Nice but would use Thomas

Albertine - Nope
Florence - nice
Audrey - frumpey
Beatrice - ok
Elizabeth- nice
Leonora - too fussy
Merrilees - Nope

Boys:
Laurie - cute for a little boy, not sure if it will work for a 20somthing, perhaps as others have said, go for Laurence and have Laurie as a nickname.

If you call your DC Benjamin, he will be called Ben.

Bob and Tom - I'm not a fan of calling someone a nickname as a full name, because they will spend their life explaining that it's their full name.

Girls -
I like Audrey, Beatrice and Leonora. I think Leonora is the nicest.

I like Elizbeth, don't like Liz as a nickname, but do like Beth.

Laurie - Not keen
Benjamin (NOT Ben) Benjamin is most excellent and it is possible to have one that isn't a Ben (nearly 7 years so far, although he does sometimes get called it.)
Gilbert - makes me think of Gilbert in Anne of Green Gables
Bob - this is what DS is known as by me as a nickname. Am not sure why.
Tom - perfectly nice

Albertine - no
Florence - quite nice
Audrey - not keen
Beatrice - quite like it
Elizabeth - my sister's name. Has a lot of potential for shortened versions although I know some who are always known as Elizabeth
Leonora - not keen
Merrilees - was she a gypsy? Read a book recently where one of the main characters was known as this by another main character

Laurie lovely
Benjamin (NOT Ben) not keen
Gilbert no!
Bob nice
Tom nice, though it reminds me of Tom Cruise and that's not good

Albertine lovely
Florence I like it
Audrey lovely
Beatrice Not keen
Elizabeth nice
Leonora ok
Merrilees no

Laurie-ok
Benjamin (NOT Ben)-he WILL be called Ben!
Gilbert-urgh
Bob-the builder
Tom-lovely

Albertine-not my cup of tea
Florence-beautiful
Audrey-she'd have to grow up elegant to carry it off
Beatrice- Sarah Ferguson/Heather Mills
Elizabeth-beautiful but will prob be shortened
Leonora-fabric conditioner
Merrilees- never heard it, can't decide!

You'll change your mind hundreds of times even before you've conceived!!

I am LOVING the negative reaction to Bob
makes me even more determined to use it.