Board Thread:Naruto News/@comment-26408596-20150503091622/@comment-25227224-20150609083046

What? First; and foremost there has in no point in any media; manga, anime, games, OVA, novels — referencing anything that alludes that the Harunos' are a part of a 'clan'.

Yes, semantically there is a difference :

In example; Clans are a group of close-knit and interrelated families, where as the 'Haruno' surname is just one of many families that is one of many families in Konoha.