Nikola Tesla’s mother commonly used the first name Đuka.
She was Georgina “Đuka” Mandić, born in 1822 and the daughter of an Eastern Orthodox priest. Although she received no formal education, Tesla described her as exceptionally capable at making household tools and mechanical devices. She also had a remarkable ability to memorize Serbian epic poetry.
Tesla credited his memory and creative abilities partly to his mother’s influence and inherited qualities. Her practical ingenuity is especially notable because Tesla later became famous for designing and visualizing complex electrical machines, even though his early life was not shaped by formal scientific training at home.
The name can appear in different forms because Serbian names are transliterated into the Latin alphabet in several ways. “Đuka” is the commonly used form in English-language biographies, while Georgina is her formal given name. The question asks for the name she commonly used, not her formal name or Tesla’s surname.