Why do some Doiron males go by the last name of Gould?

Question

My maternal grandmother, Helena (Gould) Roy's father went by the last name of Gould, even though his father, grandfather, etc. were Doiron's.  Can't find his birth records  under either last name and has gotten me curious.  He went by 'William Gould' even though his father was Marcel Doiron.

Comments

Try Guyon, Dionne, Guiet, Dion. They were all used for the same last name, usually due to clerical errors.

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We may be related.  I found the same things.  Very common in Acadia region.  Besides the metal gold connection to the Gould last name, I have found other accounts of families changing their names to retain land titles after French Canada fell under British control.  People didn't want to get deported to New Orleans like had already been happening.

Answer 1

This is information I have from a family of Dourondoiron/Gould:

"The name Gould seems to have originated from an incident with Pierre Jr before 1755.  He was then living at Fort Beausejour and was trading with the English at Fort Lawrence.  The English commander asked Pierre Doiron if he was going to pay in copper, Pierre replied in English "I will pay you in Gold".  There was a umber of English who overheard and thereafter called Pierre Doiron "Monsieur Gold".  This became the name that was used by Pierre Jr and his children when dealing with the ENglish.  Old documents show the name changing from Gold to Goold then to Goulle and later to Gould."

Answer 2

There is also an established line of Gould's in New England going back to the 1600's.  The Descendants of Zaccheus Gould of Topsfield, Massachusetts, lists several generations; I believe it can be found online.

My ancestor James Gould grew up in New Hampshire, left for Cape Breton, Canada, and then returned to New Hampshire.  Two of his children stayed in Canada and two came to the US @1830. Some others Goulds were Loyalists who permanently moved to Canada.

Hope this helps!

Comments

We are probably related.  Our family traced our ancestry back to Pierre Doiron, to the early 1600's.  We are Gould's and immigrated from Acadia through New Hampshire in to Massachusetts.  We had never known of the Doiron connection until a couple years ago.  We have found the same situation, the relatives we didnt know about are split between Maritime and French Canada, and New England.