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Canadian as well as American records often anglicize French first names, especially in the 19th century. In records of French families, Marie becomes Mary, Jean is John, Guillaume is William, Antoine is Anthony, Isabelle is Elizabeth, and so on.
For last names, something weirder and more complicated is going on.
Before the 20th century, many French Canadian families had, in effect, two names: the original family name, and a dit (literally “say”) name. The second name could be an anglicized form of the original, or something else altogether. For example, the Doiron or d’Oiron family acquired the name dit Gould (gold) in the 18th century. As a result, they could be recorded in one document as Doiron, in another as Gould, and in still another as Doiron dit Gould.
The alternative name seems to have been for dealing with the English. Presumably, the English were either unable to say or spell the French name, or unable to keep all the different families of that name straight. Some Irish families adopted the practice too. Fagan, or Phegan, is a shortened form of Finnigan.
The practice sometimes extended to first names. Pierre might be listed as Pierre dit Pitre because the English knew him as Peter.
Records variously use the original or dit names for families, with little regard for consistency. In the late 19th century, the practice faded away as families settled on one name or the other. A branch of the Brun family that had been using dit Brian became O’Brian, which confused its 20th century descendants into believing they were Irish.
Gallant is sometimes said to be an early dit name for a family originally called Haché, meaning ax, or axman. Other accounts maintain that Gallant was the name the progenitor brought with him from France, making Haché the dit; there’s a family story that it was an old sailor’s moniker to show that a man came with his own ax. Some branches of the family split the difference and became Haché-Gallant.
Every now and then, a record will translate a French last name that has a literal meaning into its English equivalent. For example, someone with the last name Meunier might be listed as “Miller”, because that’s what the name means. This is not helpful.