Herriman was established in 1851 by Henry Harriman, Thomas Jefferson Butterfield, John Jay Stocking, and Robert Cowan Petty.

In 1998 Rose Creek Estates, developed by Watt Homes, started the first "subdivision" with the property under 1 acre.

In 2007, Rosecrest won a lawsuit with partner land owners/developers that allowed about 4,000 acres (16 km2) to be annexed out of neighboring city Bluffdale into Herriman to further expand the Rosecrest/Herriman housing projects.

[11] The addition of Rosecrest greatly brought up Herriman's population and enabled the town to be turned into a city.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.1 square miles (59.9 km2), all land.

[12] Herriman shares borders with Riverton to the east, South Jordan to the north, and Bluffdale to the southeast.

In 2018, a youth was playing with smoke bombs in dry grass, resulting in 160 acres burnt and three houses destroyed.

The exposed mountains, dry brush, and open fields make Herriman highly susceptible to fires.

On September 19, 2010, the National Guard was performing an exercise at Camp Williams, south of Herriman, when a tracer bullet likely struck a rock, setting off a 3,500 acres (14 km2) wildfire.

The racial makeup of the county was 83.3% non-Hispanic White, 2.2% Black, 0.8% Asian, 1.6% Pacific Islander, and 4.4% from two or more races.

Another, Advantage Arts Academy, was recently opened on 11800 S.[17] Herriman is home to the Zions Bank Real Academy, a soccer complex that serves as the training facility for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer.

Herriman contracts with Rocky Mountain Power, Wasatch Waste and recycling, Dominion Energy, South Valley Sewer, and Unified Fire Authority.