Ah, yours must be the name everyone thinks mine is. Funny story, though--in college, second day of class, our professor was going around the room trying to see if he remembered everyone's name. When he got to me, he couldn't remember and a classmate of mine I had just met, trying to help him out (and thinking my name was actually your name--assuming you're not a Basil or a Sage) said, "...It goes really well with potatoes!" And our professor, God love him, said, "Oh! I know--Steak!!" So I was Steak for a while...and that's probably not even the weirdest thing I've been called by people who get my name wrong. At least it's entertaining sometimes.
I know I've heard the term used in the US, UK, Ireland, Hong Kong and South Africa. Not sure about Australia/New Zealand, but I'd be surprised if the term isn't known there as well.
In the US, the butter-makers' union (possibly just the American Dairy Council) has a tv/radio commercial to encourage the consumption of butter (more like, encourage loving mothers to serve it to their families). They have a slogan, set to a jaunty tune, which I am sure way too many Americans could sing upon request. It goes: "Give 'em all a little pat of butter!"
I know Nob or Nobby is a name e.g. Nobby Stiles (footballer) short for Norbert. Not very common I know but still makes more sense to me than a 'pat' of butter. Win some lose some I guess
I heard it often in the US when I was growing up in the 1960s, but I don't hear it much anymore. Our school lunch menus would say, "Hot rolls with one pat of butter." They were small square slices cut from a stick of butter, but they varied in thickness depending on who cut them. Later we got small cardboard squares with a pat of butter on them, covered in waxed paper.
It comes from when butter was churned from milk. When it was turned out of the churn it was wet and it was patted around (bit like kneading clay or dough) with wooden paddles (not hands that could be hot and melt the butter) till the air and water were squeezed out. Then it would be patted into blocks or shapes. You can still buy butter moulds and stamps in different sizes to make little pats of butter as decorative presentations of your butter, for guests.
I think 'Laurel' should also be a shrub used as a herb in cooking, its usually called a Bay leaf. Great if a leaf or two is in the boiling of corned beef.
"Morgan" is also used to refer to DNA segments, named after Thomas Hunt Morgan. I would say it is as much a "segment" as a gene is. https://isogg.org/wiki/CentiMorgan
Sage I feel like is a newfangled thing, like apple but sounding more mysterious.