Eight apostles and nine names are given here, and for most, this is their only specific mention in the book of Mark.

• Andrew (Ἀνδρέας) is a Greek name, meaning ‘manly’ or ‘macho’. We see him referenced as the brother of Simon (Peter) at 1:16 — presuming this is the same manly dude. He represents the rebellious fishermen, and here we see that both the laborer and the rebel, as his deputy, are subject to Christ.
• Philip (Φίλιππος) is unmentioned in the rest of Mark. We are told that he is from Bethsaida in Galilee, but we have to assume that he was so famous that folks alive when the Gospels were written would have recognized it. As it happens, there was a famous Philip: he was a son of Herod the Great, and had been a relatively long reigning king of a big chunk of the Levant. Philip was royalty and represented the Herodian family. So that royalty in general, specifically the Herodians, are subject to Christ.
• Bartholomew (Βαρθολομαῖος) is mentioned in Mark only here. The name, in Hebrew (בַּר תָּלְמַי), means ‘son of Ptolemy’, meaning he was a royal prince from one of the most powerful Greek families who had at one time controlled the Levant. Here we’re saying that the Ptolemys were also subject to Christ.
• Matthew (Μαθθαῖον) is present in every apostle list and then largely absent in the text. One might imagine that an apostle with a named Gospel would have more detail, but there is none. The name is often assumed to be translated from a Hebrew term meaning “Gift of God”, but a more accurate translation comes from the matching Aramaic word, meaning manly. In the book of Matthew, a tax collector is called out by Jesus and his name is Matthew. In Mark, that tax collector was named Levi: for generations believers have been happy to assume this was one man with two names. Possibly, this is a reference to Josephus ben Mattityahu, whom I am claiming is the author of Mark.
• Thomas (Θωμᾶν) is another common name in every apostle list, and has a single scene in John where he earned the epithet “Doubting”. Otherwise the Gospels are silent about the man, whose name is related to the Hebrew word for ‘twin’. Since there is little else, I will speculate that with the use of names meaning ‘macho’ or ‘manly’ interspersed with names indicating royal rank, that the use of “twin” here might have been a reductionist gloss on Judean culture — “another macho guy”. His actual name and personality details are unimportant because he was a Judean rebel, but now he’s a Good Roman under Christ.
• James (Ἰάκωβον) son of Alphaeus (Ἁλφαίου) is of interest only in that the tax collector and Christ follower mentioned earlier, Levi, was also a son of Alphaeus. Is James another name for Levi? Was he a brother? It’s a mystery.
• Thaddaeus (Θαδδαῖον) means “brave-hearted” or “courageous”. The name doesn’t appear in Luke, and isn’t mentioned again in Mark. Another mystery.
• Simon the Canaanite (Σίμωνα τὸν Καναναῖον) is also called “Simon the Zealot”. In the book of Matthew, he is called the brother of Judas Alphaeus. He probably represents another of the rebel leaders.