To the name Simon (in Greek, Σίμωνι; from the Hebrew שמעון, meaning ‘a hearing’) was appended a Greek name: Πέτρον, meaning ‘a stone; rock; ledge; or cliff’. The descriptive phrase “like talking to a brick wall” is used to describe situations where the audience refuses to respond to reason. Here, the juxtaposition of ‘hearing’ and ‘rock’ seems to imply a similar situation where the application of reason is fruitless.

The first disciple named in Mark was Simon, and the names of the next few apostles reflect the first disciples. It would be reasonable to assume that this Simon is the same Simon as before, but there’s really nothing here to tie this Simon to the one in Mark 1:29-36.