My name is also Joella, I've never liked it. I was born in 1957 when all the other girls got normal names. I suppose it didn't help me any to be the new kid in school and have an unusual name. I use my middle name now unless I'm legally required to use my first.
We named our daughter Joella (now 13 years ago) as i) my wife knew a woman with this unusual name and ii) I am a Steely Dan fan and hoped her nickname would be "Josie". She didn't turn out to be a "Josie", though, and uses nicknames "Jo" and "JoJo" but these are cool as well (especially if you are more of a Boz Scaggs fan). So we are very happy with the name that is very unusual with flexible nicknames but not weird, which is hard to come by.I really can't believe how incredibly rare this name is, but I consider it a huge bonus!
I love the name, Joella. It's different and easy to say, and it is my name. I also consider it famous! There was a woman named Joella back about the time of the civil war, who helped to free slaves. I'd tell you her last name but it actually is the same as mine! If you knew it you could google it and see, I'm telling the truth!